equilibrium
by maravelous
Summary: AU; If you can't live in this world, kill the things that can. — ShikaTema & NejiTen
1. Demons

equilibrium

1

_Carry on my wayward son  
There'll be peace when you are done  
Lay your weary head to rest  
Don't you cry no more_

_fourteen years ago_  
_hyuuga complex_  
_october thirty-first_  
_midnight_

"_Neji, stop glaring at Shikamaru." Neji's father scolded, frowning at his son who was eyeing the sleeping child with distaste. "Shikamaru may not be a blood relative, but his father's off on an important business meeting and he's a family friend, so we have to take care of his son and treat him with the hospitality as if he's our own."_

"_I don't like him. All he does is sleep all day." Neji complained, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth._

_Neji's father sighed, his lips twitching with a small smile. "If you want him to wake up then do your best to get him off that sofa…However, he's just like his father, so it may be hard. I should know…"_

"_I'm not gonna wake him up. He'll just go to sleep again. Or else he'll start complaining about everything."_

"_Well then, keep an eye on him for me, and don't leave him alone, no matter what. He's your friend, that's what you do. Alright?"_

"_Alright."_

"_That's a good boy. Now sit and wait here. I'll be upstairs."_

"_Okay." Neji watched as his father climbed up the staircase, then he sat obediently, if not reluctantly, and sighed, flicking on the television._

'_Tomorrow there'll be a cold front coming in, so you'd better bundle up-'_

'_What are you talking about? You're stupid, I-'_

'_So the stock market started sloping downwards, eventually resulting in less productivity in-'_

_Neji sighed, staring at the television, his eyes out of focus, thinking of other things. He flicked the remote one more time._

'_And now moving on to reports about recent strange electrical deficiencies, accompanied by harsh winds and the smell of - sulfur, is it? - in Konoha.'_

_Neji sat forward. "This is what dad was talking about earlier…" he said quietly to himself, suddenly interested._

'_That sure is odd. For how long has this been happening?'_

'_Since Monday, actually.'_

"_Today's Friday." Neji said softly. "A whole week…?"_

'_So far there are no explanations as to why this is happening, but from now on we are predicted to have some -- what -- ha-ha -- never mind, I -- no, I just got here, I can't --'_

_Neji blinked as the television suddenly started hissing, changing channels and breaking up. He sat up even straighter and turned the television off. The whistling sound of a draft blowing through the hollow walls sent shivers down his arms, and the scented candle on the table by the sofa blew out._

_Neji stared at it for a while, then turned to Shikamaru on his right and hesitantly reached out and shook his shoulder. Shikamaru woke with a start and groaned._

"_What is it…?" he mumbled, his eyes opening and staring at Neji through hooded lids._

_Neji was interrupted when the two standing lamps in the living room started flickering on and off. Shikamaru glanced around himself and raised an eyebrow. "Electric charges acting up, huh?"_

"_That's what dad was talking about earlier, and what they were talking about on the news." Neji said in a hushed voice._

"_Looks like it's happening again. But it's no big deal. I wanna go back to sleep, so don't bother me." Shikamaru muttered._

_Neji narrowed his pale eyes and frowned. "You don't have to be a-"_

"_Wait…" Neji stopped talking as Shikamaru paused and sat up all the way._

"…_What?" Neji asked, trying to keep from pummeling the boy._

"_Listen."_

_Neji pressed his lips together and strained his ears to hear whatever Shikamaru was hearing. After a while, he caught it as well. A sort of clicking at the door. "What is it?" Neji whispered._

_Shikamaru didn't get a chance to speak. The lights went out immediately._

_Both boys stiffened and reached for each other automatically, patting each other's arms to make sure they were there. But they didn't speak, because there was suddenly the sound of footsteps crossing the room, muffled by the carpet and light, almost as if they weren't there at all, but evident as they listening close enough. They stayed seated, still and helpless in the pitch black dark, their eyes not yet accustomed to the dark unable to see anything. Shikamaru's hand tightened on Neji's arm with fear._

_The sound of the footsteps passed right in front of them, and Neji's heart nearly stopped. He could have sworn they paused for a second. But then they went on, and he relaxed. He had no idea why he had such an awful, chilling feeling, but he was sure his younger companion that was holding onto the hem of his sleeve could feel it as well._

_The invisible suspect made their way to the staircase, and the boys both waited till they were gone and not audible anymore before they turned to each other. Their eyes were now getting used to their surroundings and they let go of each other, finally able to make each other out._

"_Who was it? Who else comes into your house like that?" Shikamaru whispered._

"_What do you mean who was it? I don't know. This part of the manor is reserved for me and my dad only, that's the only people in our family. No one else."_

"_Did your dad leave the house?"_

"_No. I don't know who it was."_

"_Or what it was..." Shikamaru pointed out, and both boys suddenly realized something._

"_Dad!" Neji yelled, jumping to his feet._

"_Stupid, don't go up there!" Shikamaru yelled._

"_GHACK!"_

_Neji and Shikamaru froze at the sounds suddenly coming from upstairs. Neji's eyes grew wide. "That was dad…!" he gasped._

"_GRAH!"_

_Then came the sound of more cries and groans and yelps from Neji's father that stained his ears, along with the sounds of blood and pain that he couldn't describe. Neji and Shikamaru could barely move. It was horrific, and the five and six year old boys couldn't bear it._

_But then the door crashed open and a flashlight lit the room. Both boys jumped to their feet and faced the intruder, but the flashlight lit up his face and Shikamaru said, "Dad?" in relief._

"_Where's your father, Neji?" the older man said, eyes narrowed seriously._

_Neither boy spoke, but there was a loud crack from upstairs, and the man narrowed his eyes. "Shikamaru, Neji, leave this place and get outside right now, do you understand me?!"_

_  
"What? But dad-"_

"_GO!"_

_Neji and Shikamaru did what they were told and ran from the room as the older man flung himself up the stairs, pulling something out of his pocket that looked suspiciously like a gun._

_The boys stumbled into their front yard, and just in time, because seconds later the house burst into flames._

_It started on the second story. There was an explosion of orange and yellow, and the windows blew out, glass littering the front yard, raining down on them like diamonds, tinkling in the light of the flames that reached out of the windows like hands, hungry for someone or something._

_A second later Shikamaru's father ran out of the house, his cloths black and charred and covered in the remnants of smoke and ash, coughing and wiping his streaming eyes. He stopped and turned around, standing still and staring up at the building which was slowly but surely burning to the ground._

_Neji felt his eyes sting. "No…MY DAD'S IN THERE! NO!"_

_Shikamaru's father was startled from his trance and grabbed Neji before he could run back inside. "No…Two of the Hyuuga's dead is not better than one…" he whispered._

"_DAD'S NOT DEAD! HE CAN'T DIE! DAD!" Neji roared, his voice breaking._

_Shikamaru's mouth was wide open. "No way…there's just no way…!" he yelled over the crashing and screams of woman and children running outside from the other stations of the manor and staring at the burning wreckage. And that's when he saw it. The dark shadow of a cloaked figure, shrouded in black, standing among the fire. _

_But then the flames licked him up, and he disappeared from sight._

_present day…_

"Oi Shikamaru."

"What you want, Chouji?" Shikamaru mumbled, opening one eye lazily. He lay slouched against the wall behind his bed in his and his roommate's apartment, the small radio on the bedside table playing classic rock back to back. It was about four in the afternoon and the sun was slipping through the blinds of the room. The boy had grown into a gruff young man. Still lazy, his dark eyes hooded most of the time beneath his black hair pulled into a spiky ponytail. He had a thick book open in his lap with a notebook and pencil lying on top of it.

His friend stood in the doorway of their apartment. "It's the day before Halloween. You're not gonna go out and do anything fun with us still?"

"Nah, I gotta study." Shikamaru said, sighing and sitting up a bit, looking down at his work in his lap.

Chouji scratched his head distastefully. "Shikamaru, you're always studying. Take a break, it's a holiday."

"We're not kids, Chouji, we don't go trick-or-treating anymore." Shikamaru said reasonably, not looking up from his books.

"You never _did_." Chouji pointed out, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Shikamaru, try to let go once in a while! You're such a stiff-ass."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Chouji. Go out and have fun, I'll be in here, alright?"

"…Okay. Well I'll be coming back late, so see ya…I'll leave you alone to your oldies music." Chouji snorted a bit as he closed the door behind him.

Shikamaru immediately shoved the work aside. "Gotta love the classics." he muttered before flicking the radio off and standing. "Alright, you can come out now."

The door to the bathroom opened, and Neji, Shikamaru's best friend, walked out. His hair was long, and up in a high ponytail, and he dressed in a brown leather jacket, jeans and cowboy boots. Neji sighed. "That guy's your roommate?"

"Yeah, that's Chouji. My _friend_." Shikamaru said darkly, emphasizing the word and making Neji roll his eyes. "So what are you doing here? You march into my room and suddenly start spurting nonsense about how you shouldn't be seen here? Why not? Chouji's my _friend_, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Neji sat down next to Shikamaru on the bed and closed his eyes in irritation when Shikamaru yet again put emphasis on the word 'friend'. "I'm here because of your dad."

"What about him? Been his favorite kid in the world again?" Shikamaru asked calmly, bitterly.

That struck Neji harder. He opened his eyes and narrowed them in Shikamaru's direction. "When are you going to get over the fact that we've been keeping in contact? I've tried to keep in contact with you as well I hope you know."

"I know."

"Then why aren't you responding to anything? I send you texts, emails, letters even, I call you whenever I'm finished with a hunting-"

"Don't talk about hunting, alright?" Shikamaru interrupted him, feeling something spark inside of him. "Not in front of me."

Neji sighed. "It's been exactly fourteen years today, Shikamaru. You can't go around acting like nothing happened to my dad. That's the only reason I'm doing this. To find whatever the hell killed my dad, your father's best friend, and make sure it doesn't get another person."

Shikamaru said nothing. Neji closed his eyes and leaned back to rest his head in the bed. "Would you work with me here, please?"

"What do you want me to say? 'Good luck daddy's boy'?"

"I'm not your dad's son, but I'm as good as it. So what? We've been like brothers since we were kids. It's something you should open up to." Neji said, opening his eyes and looking up at the ceiling.

"Whatever. I'm busy, alright? Just tell me what you want from me already and stop your damn preaching."

Neji sat up again. "Actually…speaking of him…Your dad is missing…" he said slowly, watching Shikamaru.

Shikamaru turned back to Neji warily. "What are you talking about…?"

"He left in the middle of the night. Told me not to follow." Neji said darkly. "And he hasn't been back in a while."

"So what? He always goes on trips like that, what's the big deal?"

"Shikamaru, he hasn't been back in about a month now."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "And you're…going after him…" Shikamaru asked slowly, staring at him. Neji nodded.

"Listen, Shikamaru…I can't do this on my own. I'm not the type to ask for help, but I'm also not the type to walk into something that can kill me."

Shikamaru heaved a sigh and rested his elbows on his knees, placing his forehead into his hands. He was silent for a while, but Neji didn't test him, just watched. Finally Shikamaru straightened up and stretched. "Alright…" he said with a small yawn. "I'll help you out just this once, Neji." He turned to him. "But you owe me."

Neji smirked, a little relieved. "Got it."

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"…Dude, nice car."

Shikamaru stared in surprise at the old-fashioned black car parked out in front of the campus of Konoha Academy, one eyebrow raised in approval.

Neji smirked. "Thanks. 67 Chevy Impala."

"Perfect condition, too."

"I thought you'd like it. You always were addicted to cars, weren't you?"

"Eh, I guess. So where'd ya get it, from dad?"

"Nah, I got it myself."

Shikamaru gave Neji a suspicious look as they both got in and slammed the doors, Neji in the driver's seat and Shikamaru next to him in the passenger seat. "Wait a minute…did you _steal _it? Cause I know there's no way in hell you'd gather up the dough to get it yourself."

"I didn't steal it, dumb ass." Neji said, rolling his eyes as he started it with a rumble. "I _bought_ it with some money that I got from a guy that was a little too grateful for a job I pulled off back in Oregon."

Shikamaru sighed. "So people are giving you money for exterminating creeps now? Weird."

"Whatever you say." Neji said as he pulled out and started down the road, dust flying up behind them in a cloud.

"So…" Shikamaru said conversationally as they rumbled along. "Dad was after a spook down in Missouri, was he? Not far, that's about three hours from here."

"Yup." Neji said, eyes on the road and his fingers drumming on the steering wheel as some old classic rock music, much like the kind Shikamaru had been listening to in his dorm room, played from the speakers. "And apparently he never got there in time. See there's this suspicious rumor floating around about a bunch of deaths down in Missouri relating to an old bridge. It's supposed to have a story to it, and your dad was gonna check it out."

"And how do you know he never got there?"

"Because I looked it up online, and the deaths haven't stopped." Neji said simply. "If your dad had gotten there, the deaths would've stopped by now. But he either hasn't gotten there yet because he's been sidetracked, or he moved on from the spot either because he gave up or had something more important on his mind."

"Like what?"

"Like what he's been doing for a while now. Trying to find the bastard that killed my own dad."

Shikamaru sighed. "Right…" he said slowly.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

Three hours later, Neji sighed in relief as he finally parked into the hotel parking lot. It was turning a little darker now, but it was still light enough for him to feel satisfied he'd used time properly. He turned to his friend in the seat next to him. Shikamaru's head was resting against the window, and he was snoring away, a little bit of drool dripping out of the corner of his mouth as well.

Neji wrinkled his nose in disgust and shoved the man in the shoulder. Shikamaru woke with a start and looked over at Neji with glassy eyes. "Wha…?"

"Man, you're just as lazy as when we were kids." Neji said, shaking his head. "You fell asleep a quarter mile away from this place. We're here now. All I gotta do is get us checked into a room, then you can sleep all you want."

"Uh huh…" Shikamaru yawned and Neji winced.

"Dude, wipe your mouth."

"Eh?" Shikamaru blinked and dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, then blinked at the wet saliva on it and rubbed it on his jeans. Neji rolled his eyes and exited the car, slamming the door behind him. Shikamaru sighed and did the same, scratching his head sleepily.

"Damn I hate these trips…" he muttered.

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"The Nara family?"

"Yeah." Neji said. As usual, he was trading his last name for Shikamaru's to avoid too much trouble. Shikamaru wouldn't mind, he knew, because he looked too tired to care much about anything.

The young man behind the desk of the hotel lobby gave Neji and Shikamaru a look. "What, is there a family reunion or somethin'?"

Neji blinked, confused. "Um…sorry?"

"Another Nara member showed up not too long ago and rented out a room at this very same place."

Shikamaru seemed to wake up just a bit, and he and Neji shared a look. Neji placed a hand on the counter.

"Can we check out _that_ room, then?"

"Whatever ya say."

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"This is the one." The lobby man said as he handed Neji the key card to open the hotel room door. "Enjoy your party…"

Shikamaru flicked the man off behind his back, annoyed by his sarcasm, but Neji swatted his hand down and stuck the key card in. He cracked the door open slowly and pulled Shikamaru inside.

The sun lit the room up from outside, and the two stared around, shocked into silence.

"…Whoa." Shikamaru said finally, breaking the silence.

The room they were in was covered in newspaper clippings and pages ripped out of books and articles printed from laptops and computers, stuck to the walls with duct tape and push pins sloppily.

"Well…he sure knew what he was doing…" Neji said after another long stretch of silence. He clapped his hands together once. "Let's get looking, then. See how far he got."

"Okay, I'll take this wall." Shikamaru said sarcastically. Neji laughed a bit and walked over to the small table in the corner of the room, starting to sort through different papers. Shikamaru looked over the papers taped to the wall.

"You got anything?" Neji asked after a while.

"Yeah, sort of. Ever heard of the legend of Rout 66?"

Neji stopped looking through the desk and glanced at Shikamaru over his shoulder. "You mean the famous haunted road?"

"Yup. According to this website print-out, there's about eight 'rout 66's. Along with one right here in Missouri."

"Ah. So that's what his target is." Neji said, smirking a bit. "So what do we have on Rout 66 in here?"

"Well…is the bridge we're talking about the Chain of Rocks bridge near St. Louis?"

"Um…Yeah, I think that's the one."

"Well, then that's perfect. We've got a head on it." Shikamaru said, crossing his arms. "It looks like Rout 66 closely follows the rout of a pre-Civil War stage line. That's probably why people have rumored it to be haunted by the dead soldiers."

"Of course, but that wouldn't explain the deaths." Neji said. He turned to Shikamaru. "Then I guess we'd better check it out for ourselves."

Shikamaru nodded. "I guess so."

Neji smirked and removed two things from his jacket. "Remember this?" he asked suddenly, throwing one of the weapons to Shikamaru. He caught it.

"A GP 35 pistol," Shikamaru muttered, examining it. He shook it once, then looked up at Neji. "With salt bullets."

"Yup." Neji said, taking his own. He placed it in his belt for easy access and turned to the door.

"The only thing that can dissolve a demon."

__

Take nothing but photos -  
leave nothing but footprints -  
break nothing but silence -  
kill nothing but time.  
--Explorer's Code

1

_**disclaimer:**_ I do not own _Naruto or Supernatural._  
_**song:** __Carry On My Wayward Son _by _Kansas_.

_**a/n:**_ Yay! I put it up! Yeah, I know, this didn't win the poll, but I was having so much trouble on the other story that I decided to do this one! This one's gonna be _sorta_ like the show _Supernatural_, if anyone's ever seen it, but not exactly. Actually, it'll be pretty different. Oh, and it's surprising, right? Neji and Shikamaru best friends, almost brothers? Wow, right? Of course, they _are_ the two smartest people in Naruto (and my two favorite guy characters. XD). Oh, and by the way, yes TenTen and Temari will show up soon, don't worry. Well, I have a lot in store for you, so please look forward to the next chapter! :D

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	2. Fire

equilibrium

2

_Once I rose above the noise and confusion  
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion  
I was soaring ever higher  
But I flew too high_

"Welcome to Route 66, America's Main Street, located in scenic Missouri." Shikamaru said aloud as they passed the sign that signaled the beginning of the road. "Humph. Seems like any old corny route to me." he said, rolling up the window.

Neji snorted and zoomed past the sign even faster. "Take a look at the map for me. Might need it." he said as he watched the dirt road. It was completely empty except for some rocks and trees and small grasses.

"Talk about your ghost town…" Shikamaru muttered. Neji looked over at him, and Shikamaru explained. "It goes from St. Luis to Joplin, and it doesn't have a city to stop at anywhere along the way, just a few rest stops and small hick towns here and there."

"Well, expect that from a haunted road. Completely empty. It should be even worse at night, too."

"Just our luck. It's 7:00." Shikamaru said, glancing at the clock.

"Exactly. We want to be targeted by them, remember." Neji said. "Now help me out here and shout when the chain rock bridge or whatever it is comes up."

"Alright, alright." Shikamaru read the map as Neji drove on for a while.

To break the silence, Neji turned to Shikamaru. "So, you still hanging around that Asuma character?"

Shikamaru stared at the map. "Yeah."

"Ah. He's a nice guy. A professor at your college, right? That's how you met him?"

"Yeah."

"Still treat him like your real dad?"

Shikamaru glared at Neji. "He actually acts like it, unlike-"

"That's nothing to-"

"It's comin' up."

Neji blinked and turned back to the road. He saw a bridge coming up in the distance. Meanwhile the sky had darkened to a very dark navy blue.

"Should I slow down…?" Neji asked uncertainly as they neared it.

"Yeah, probably. We don't want to miss anything." Shikamaru said, stuffing the map in the glove compartment and trading it for something else. A small circular device. "Let's see if I've still got the hang of this Electromagnetic Ray Detector."

"Please don't use the full name. It makes you sound more like a newbie than you even are." Neji said, scoffing. "Call it EMR, or Electro-Sensor at least, that's the name of the product."

"Yeah, yeah. EMR, whatever. Troublesome crap this is…" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

They finally got to the bridge. It crossed, an iron cascade, over the water that ran smoothly below in a thin murky lagoon. The wheels of the car rolled over the bridge with some effort. Neji slowed down immediately and they rumbled along at a steady pace, staring out the windows.

"Neji!" Shikamaru said loudly, suddenly, and he pointed out the windshield quickly. They stared at a man dressed in an old-fashioned soldier's uniform, standing on the high railing of the bridge, staring down into the coal black water below.

"Let's go!" Neji said immediately, stopping the car with a squeal and opening the door. Shikamaru jumped out as well and the two ran towards the man, their feet echoing along the iron footing beneath them.

"Oi! You, stop for a second!" Neji yelled loudly.

The man turned his head to look at them. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

But before either of them could say another word he fell from the bridge and disappeared from sight. Neji and Shikamaru both stopped running, surprised.

"Can ghosts be suicidal…?" Neji asked, breaking the silence.

"Idiot, let's check it out!" Shikamaru cried, and the two ran to the railing and peered over it. But there was nothing there. Not even a splash or ripple.

"Weird." Neji muttered. "Why would it lure us over here like this, does it think we'd jump off after it?"

"'It' looks like it has a gender, and that would be male." Shikamaru said. "And there might not be a reason at all. Demons are pretty random, aren't they? Besides the fact that they tend to be selective with their victims they do…mysterious things."

"But it always has a reason. I should know more than you, Shikamaru." Neji said, narrowing his eyes as the two looked over the side.

Suddenly there was the roar of an engine. The two slowly turned around, staring at the car. The lights turned on and the engine grumbled.

"…Dude, who's driving the car?" Shikamaru asked carefully, his eyes widening.

Neji slowly reached into his pocket, neither of them taking their eyes off of the car, and held up a jangling chain of keys. Shikamaru groaned.

The car roared louder, and it started for them. Neji stuffed the keys back into his pocket and pushed Shikamaru. The two ran, slowly at first, looking over their shoulders at the car warily, then as the car accelerated they got faster and flew down the bridge for their lives, running as fast as their legs could take them. The car however was, of course, faster than them, and Shikamaru turned and dived off of the bridge.

"Idiot!" Neji yelled, but he felt the car coming up on him and, gritting his teeth, did the same. He felt himself falling, but then his wrist caught on something. He yelled in pain from the straight on his appendage, but he looked up and saw Shikamaru, hanging onto the side of the railing of the bridge with one hand. Neji breathed a sigh of relief and looked below him into the water. He wouldn't die if he fell, but it sure would be a pain in the ass…

'_Lucky Shikamaru's here, for once_.' Neji thought bitterly as they hung there awkwardly, their muscles stretching painfully.

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"I still don't think two deaths could've happened just because they jumped off the bridge. It couldn't kill two people in the same situation. At least one of them should be able to swim." Shikamaru said thoughtfully as the two sat in their car later that night. They'd backed the car off of the bridge as soon as possible, and now Neji was opening his black razor cell phone and checking the internet, Shikamaru massaging his own shoulders.

"That's why I'm checking out the victims themselves right now." Neji said absentmindedly as he typed a bit on the number board. He sighed. "I wish we'd at least remembered to get our guns out of the trunk or something. We wouldn't have had to jump like suicidal freaks."

"Heh. It sure gives me memories, though." Shikamaru said, staring out the window. "Old times…"

Neji looked up from his cell phone to Shikamaru for a second, then there was a beep and he turned back. "Ah…I think we have something…"

"What?" Shikamaru asked, looking back to Neji.

"Something's up with this family…" Neji said. "Both deaths have related to them."

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"You're kidding me." Shikamaru said, staring into the small crate that Neji had open on his lap. It was filled with different wallets and cards. "Fake ID's? You and dad are still playing that old trick?"

"It's immature, I know, but it's useful." Neji said, sifting through them. "Hmm. FBI, or Priests from the local church? What's better?"

"Hyuuga, we're both atheists."

"I know that, _Nara_. But it's useful for finding out information. Police think we're crazy unless we have a good reason to look into something."

"Then FBI, please…_Please_. I can handle playing 'dress up like FBI', but…please…_please_ not priests."

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"Get up, Shikamaru. And stop drooling on my car's window."

Shikamaru yawned and cracked an eye open. Light hit his face immediately and he groaned and sat up straight from his slumped position against the side of the passenger seat, wincing as his eyes got used to the light. "Damn…where are we?"

"Lebanon. Little hick town…" Shikamaru blinked slowly, and Neji sighed. "It only took us about twenty five minutes to get here and you already fell asleep. That might be a new record."

"Shut up…What time is it?"

"Eight in the morning." Neji said, pulling his keys out of the steering wheel as he spoke and stuffing them in his pocket. "We're outside the family's house right now, we're gonna go and check it out."

"And not get shot by some red-neck, preferably?" Shikamaru muttered.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Stop being stereotypical. Let's go."

Shikamaru got out after Neji, the two slamming the doors shut and making their way up to the porch. "By the way, just so I get it right, what family's this again?"

"The Uzumaki's…er, well…The Uzumaki."

"Eh?"

"There's only one dude in the family. He's an orphan, mum died near the time he was born by some freak accident and dad committed suicide soon after."

"…Man…" Shikamaru whistled. "Poor kid…"

"Yeah, now he's doin' pretty well. Works as a financial advisor or something like that."

"Okay, then. He should be easy to handle."

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"I don't need the dumb-ass FBI looking to my friend's death! Leave me alone, damn it!"

BANG!

"Or not…" Shikamaru muttered as Neji blinked and stepped back, a little unsettled from the door slammed a centimeter away from his face by the blonde man.

Neji sighed and tried again, knocking on the door. "Sir, we're legally obligated to get to the bottom of what…ahem, _who_ killed your friend, and we can only do that with your help. We need you to cooperate."

"You don't need my god damn _help_! I couldn't help _Sasuke_!"

Neji paused. "Who…?"

"Sasuke! Sasuke Uchiha! The one that was _killed_, you idiot! What kind of FBI agent are you, you're supposed to _know_ this shit!"

Neji glanced at Shikamaru, who cleared his throat. "Where can we find his body?" he called through the door.

"You _can't_, fuck-tard! Didn't they tell you about the missing body?!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Missing? Then how the hell do you know he's dead?"

"Because I _saw_ him get run over!"

"What?"

"God…Fine, I'll explain it _slowly_, since obviously you guys don't get the story the first time! I was with him on a trip to St. Louis to see a friend, and we were just checking out the scenery, taking a hike, you know. So we decided to take a walk late one night, and, well, we were a little drunk and everything but I still had my sense about me, I wasn't seeing things…And this _bastard_ ran him over! They say his body fell into the lagoon…Sick freaks out there…God _damn it_!"

"What kind of car was it?" Neji asked quickly.

"Some black pick-up truck or something."

"Did you happen to see…hell, _who the fuck was driving it_?" Shikamaru asked impatiently. "Ya get it, so we can, oh I don't know, _arrest him_?"

"SHUT UP! The windows were tinted, alright?! It…It just looked like no one was even driving, I dunno…Now get off my porch!"

Neji and Shikamaru exchanged a dark look. "Thanks for the help, Mr. Uzumaki. We'll leave you alone now."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Dude, cars just start and run people over on their own." Shikamaru said between a handful of potato chips. They had stopped at a small shop called _Wrink's Market_ on the side of the road in Lebanon, getting some lunch. It was a little western sort of shack, but it was convenient, and they'd gotten their fill that they were consuming now, sitting against the hood of the car and discussing what they'd managed to gather up so far. Shikamaru swallowed. "I'm telling you, man, the demon's chasing people out of their cars and into the lagoon, or at least off the bridge so they can't get across. I know that that side of the road's closed, so people rarely get by there, but it's still gonna go on for a while."

"Yeah, but why?" Neji asked, sipping a coke. "I mean, across the bridge it just ends in a dead end. There's no point in even crossing it unless you want to get a good view of the scenery, which is what Naruto and Sasuke were doing. But why's it not killing others, and just targeting that Naruto Uzumaki's friends? In that site we looked up earlier, it says that two of them, including Sasuke, have been run over in front of an Uzumaki's eyes on that same bridge."

"_An_ Uzumaki's eyes? What are you getting at?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh yeah, forgot. See, the last victim was Naruto's father's wife. The freak accident I was talking about? Well, that's the wife being run over in front of the man's eyes on the bridge. He committed suicide soon after by jumping off the bridge."

"That's weird."

"But I don't understand. Why would that demon not want people to cross the bridge, and why were her and Sasuke the only ones killed and gone missing?"

"Well, here's a reason." Shikamaru said. Neji looked up as Shikamaru faced him. "See, I did a bit more research, and I found that Naruto Uzumaki's an ancestor to a past Civil War soldier."

"Think that the spirit we saw on the bridge is the same soldier?"

"Most likely." Shikamaru sighed. "See, the soldier died when his troop was spotted by generals. He ran to get the attention of them, drawing them away from his troop. He died jumping off the bridge while being shot to death. He was trying to escape the bullets."

"…Seriously?"

"Yup. Oh, and even better; Two members of his troop."

"Who?"

"One was an Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha now is his ancestor. Another was the soldier's 'significant other'."

Neji nodded slowly, exhaling slowly. "I see it now…So our demon's either getting revenge on them for letting him die…"

"…Or he wants to keep them _safe_ from others…" Shikamaru finished for Neji.

Neji sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to make himself concentrate. "We just have to figure out a way to get across the bridge…Damn, Shikato would've known…"

Shikamaru stared at Neji. "Shikato?" He snorted. "Now you're calling _my dad_ by his first name? Real buddies, aren't you?"

"I only did that because I know what you'd say if I called him 'dad' myself." Neji said darkly. "Even though he's as good as-"

"Yeah, well he _isn't_!" Shikamaru interrupted him angrily, his voice raising dangerously. "It's not your dad, it's mine. Even though he acts like the opposite."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?! You're like a kid!"

"Yeah? Well if you're so friggin' annoyed by me, then why did you decide to bring me along?"

"I'm actually starting to regret it." Neji shot back.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Fine, then. You know what, when we finish our job here, you're gonna take me right back to my dorm and I'm gonna go back to my old life."

"Fine, you know what, fine." Neji said angrily. "And you can go ahead not caring about him."

"You're not my brother, Neji, even if you want to be. It's not my fucking fault your dad was stupid enough to get himself killed! My dad-"

Shikamaru stopped when Neji suddenly dropped his empty coke can and grabbed Shikamaru's collar with his fist, drawing his face closer to his own furious one. "Don't _ever_ talk about my dad like that." he growled. He shook Shikamaru away from him and climbed into the car, slamming the door hard behind him.

Shikamaru just stood there, one hand to his throat, looking angry and regretful.

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Damn it. This could have been so much easier." Shikamaru groaned as Neji helped him over the cliff. They'd had to avoid the bridge, so Neji suggested they literally walk through the lagoon and climb up the cliff. It wasn't easy. The lagoon was filled with thick swirling slime and liquids that Shikamaru didn't even _want_ to know about. He'd trudged to the shore once he'd gotten past the bridge and started dragging himself up the cliff, trying his best not to fall though he was being hampered by his soaked clothes.

"You alright?" Neji asked. Shikamaru noticed that Neji was in the same disgusting state as him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, let's getting going." he said gruffly. They both looked around. The dirt road ended here to a small lot, then spread out into vast blank forestry and desert. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Well, where-?"

"GRAH!"

"SHIT!" Shikamaru yelled aloud when suddenly a black-haired young man jumped out from behind a rock, startled.

Neji sighed. "You really have lost it, haven't you, Shikamaru?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Shikamaru said, calming his rapidly beating heart. He turned to the man, angry. "What the hell was that for?"

The man stared at them. "You got over…?! Thank god!"

Neji blinked. "Hey…Are you Sasuke Uchiha?"

"_Yes_!" he said, looking relieved. "Damn it, this ass hole is playing 'dress up like a soldier' and trying to run me over every time I try to get back across! And you know what?! There's a fucking _skeleton_ over there! It looks like a woman, but it scared the _hell_ out of me!"

Shikamaru and Neji shared a look, then Neji cleared his throat. "FBI." he said, pulling out a badge. "We're here to get you back. We'll have to cross the lagoon, but it'll be fine."

"Whew. Way ahead of you!" Sasuke said, wiping his brow and walking ahead of them. Neji put his badge back, and as he and Shikamaru followed, he turned to Shikamaru.

"It's the skeleton of Naruto's dads' wife." Shikamaru said in a hushed voice. "Probably died from a heat stroke, or starvation."

"Yeah, that's probably it." Neji said grimly. He watched Sasuke's back. "Least we saved one of em, huh?"

"Think that demon's gonna come after us?" Shikamaru asked.

Neji looked over his shoulders and his eyes widened. Shikamaru looked as well and spotted the spirit, dressed in his uniform and watching them. His eyes were hooded, shadowed and baggy. His face was sad, solemn.

"I think he's given up." Neji said quietly as his form rippled with the breeze. The demon just stared at them and nodded once. Shikamaru and Neji glanced at each other and shrugged, and they went on their way. Shikamaru glanced up at the sky. This Route 66 would be short one haunting, but not one legend.

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"Damn, it's almost midnight." Shikamaru said as Neji stopped the car in front of his campus on the dirt road. "You really kept me from studying, man."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Neji droned out, rolling his eyes. "Get out and study like a good boy."

Shikamaru snorted but did so. He paused an turned. "Hey…when you find dad…call me."

Neji smirked a bit. "Got it."

"And don't get your ass killed by some ghost-bitch or something."

"Uh huh."

Shikamaru gave the car a quick pat and walked away into campus, yawning. Shikamaru glanced behind himself once and saw Neji eating his dinner in the car, feet on the seat opposite him. Shikamaru laughed. '_He would…_' he thought, amused.

But suddenly he heard screams, yells, shouts. He narrowed his eyes and sped up. When he caught sight of the dorms, he stared.

Flames, dreadfully familiar, burned his eyes, licking at the walls of the campus dorm building. Students were everywhere, running to find each other, holding what they had gathered from their dorm room, covering themselves from the chilly air with blankets, their breath steaming around them like smoke, chatting, terrified, on their cell phones.

"Shikamaru!"

He jumped, startled, when someone grasped his shoulder gruffly, and turned him around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized his overweight friend. "Chouji…!"

"Hey, you alright, man?" he asked, looking concerned. "I got that message you left me, the one about going out for some family problems. You were out for like two days or something, what's up?"

"Nothin', just some issues with my dad." Shikamaru said impatiently. "I just got back. Chouji, what the hell's going-?"

"Asuma…" Chouji whispered suddenly.

Shikamaru stopped. "…What?"

Chouji closed his eyes. "I…I was walking down the hall and I heard shouts and yells and crashes, I think someone was beating him. Then he stopped, and…the fire started…"

"…What…?" Shikamaru's heart seemed to stop.

"It was like an explosion, I dunno, man, maybe the guy threw a grenade or bomb or something, but I couldn't get in to Asuma. The entire room was just in flames…"

Shikamaru couldn't move, couldn't speak.

"Shikamaru, I think he's…"

"Son of a bitch…" Shikamaru growled. His hands were shaking and sweating, balling into fists, and he was staring at the window. Chouji seemed to think he should leave Shikamaru alone, but Shikamaru was only staring at one thing in the window. A dark form, standing among the flames. It was more distinct that when he was a child, now that his eyes had adjusted and grown, but it was still just a black shadow. Just standing there, not minding the ash and black smoky air circling him. It was like he was untouched.

"Shikamaru!"

He turned when someone else grasped his arm. It was Neji. Shikamaru quickly glanced back to the window, but the figure was gone. He turned back to Neji, who was staring at him, worried and looking furious.

"Are you okay?!" Neji asked loudly over the crashes of the building collapsing, the screams and "_Oh my god's_" of the students on campus, the wails of sirens. "Is it the same…?!"

Shikamaru just said nothing. But he patted his friend once on the chest.

"We've got work to do."

_...and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from_  
_the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads, 66 is_  
_the mother road, the road of flight._  
-_- John Steinbeck in The Grapes Of Wrath_

2

_**a/n: **_Yeah, I know, Sasuke's really OOC in this, isn't he? well calm down, this is probably the last time you'll see him. Oh! And speaking of characters, guess who's coming next chapter?! It's TenTen. Yeah, that's right, I just gave you the answer. What now?! XD So, thanks to everyone that reviewed, please keep it up! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you soon! :D

_thanks for reading!  
_

_xmarachanx_


	3. Iron

equilibrium

3

_Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man  
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man  
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming  
I can hear them say_

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

It was three days later. Shikamaru had stayed with Neji in a hotel, mourning silently. Neji had given him two days to recover, since, he remembered, that was how long he'd needed to get over his father before he started training with Shikamaru's dad for revenge.

Now they were off to the most recent suspicious sighting they'd found on the internet. They'd decided that if they were going to find whatever was doing this, they first had to find Shikamaru's dad, and to do that they'd have to follow the trail of spirits, helping as much as they could.

Neji shifted his bag on his arm as Shikamaru walked over, watching him curiously. He seemed to feel better, knowing he would commit his revenge some day. Shikamaru opened the door and they headed out to their car parked in front of the hotel, closing the door behind them and getting in.

Shikamaru sighed comfortably and immediately slipping in a CD. Old-fashioned classic rock started playing from the speakers.

"Clarence Clearwater Revival?" Neji asked as he started the car.

"I've said this once and I'll say it again; ya gotta love the classics." Shikamaru said simply.

"I'm not saying anything against it. I like old rock myself. But I just always thought you were into more modern junk like Metallica and ACDC."

"That's not exactly _too_ modern. And I like a variety anyways."

"Ah."

Tired already, Shikamaru rested his head against the window. "So we're goin' after a new family now?"

"Yeah. An eighteen year old girl's dad was found dead for no apparent reason. She lives in Troy, Michigan. People around town are rumoring that she's cursed, because I guess violence and accidents tend to follow her around."

"Sure it's not just another one of those urban legends?"

"Well, it's our job to find out."

muirbiliuqe

"Thank you both so much for coming. I dearly needed some priests."

Neji was sure Shikamaru wanted to throw up as he and Neji stood, dressed in suits and ties, on the front porch of a tiny flat, a middle-aged Asian woman greeting them eagerly. Her hair was a very dark brown and her eyes were green, and she had a Chinese accent. Shikamaru sent Neji a glare, but he ignored it as best as he could. "Our pleasure." he responded simply to the woman.

"Please, remove your shoes on the mat and come in." she said, opening the door. Shikamaru and Neji glanced at each other and did so before entering.

Neji looked around. They were walking into a small living room. He knew immediately that this woman was indeed from China. There were no sofa's, but mats on the ground surrounding a glass tea-table. Asian ornaments such as silver elephants in miniature cabinets, and golden-framed calligraphy hung on the walls, were everywhere. It was cramped inside, but comfortable.

"Please sit." the woman said, gesturing to a wooden loveseat on the side. The two did so awkwardly. "Would you like some tea, or coffee…?" she suggested politely.

"That would help." Shikamaru muttered, but when Neji elbowed him sharply in the gut he coughed and corrected himself. "Um, coffee please."

The lady smiled warmly. "Right away." She paused. "Oh, and my daughter, TenTen, should be coming home from school soon. I told her to expect priests. She isn't very enthusiastic about it, but I doubt she'll be surprised, and she approves since it's really helping me out." Neji and Shikamaru nodded. "I'll be right back with your coffee."

She left the room. Shikamaru groaned under his breath so the woman in the kitchen couldn't hear. "Why did I let you talk me into this?"

"She was in desperate need of priests, it said in the newspaper, so I doubt she'd buy the FBI thing." Neji said just as quietly.

Suddenly the door opened and closed, and they heard a click.

Neji and Shikamaru both turned to the door to see a young woman emerge, popping some orange tic-tac's into her mouth. Neji stared at her. She was dressed in a soft, long-sleeved pink shirt, cut off at the shoulders, with a tan leather jacket over it, a short khaki skirt beneath, and knee-high cowgirl boots. She had long, silky brown hair that fell to her shoulders in two braids, streaks of cinnamon and highlights of honey weaved in, with a matching pair of big curious eyes, like two drops of liquid chocolate.

Neji had to admit it; she was the cutest woman he'd ever seen. But then he felt like slapping himself, reminding himself she was a high school student and two years younger than him.

She smiled brightly when she spotted them. "Hey priests!" she said cheerfully. "Thanks for helping out my mom. I don't really care much for priests usually, but-" Suddenly she stopped, and her eye twitched. She changed her expression with a glare. "What the…who the hell are _you_ clowns?" Shikamaru blinked and opened his mouth, but she interrupted him. "And don't you dare say, 'priests', because I know for sure you're not. What are you really here for?"

"TenTen!"

TenTen winced and sighed. "Yes, mom?" she called politely as her mother entered the room, looking appalled and holding two coffees.

"Stop being rude! They're here to help!" she said, setting down the coffees on the tea table.

TenTen nodded glumly, looking defeated. "Yes, ma'am."

"Now go to your room."

"Yes ma'am." When her mother turned her back on them, TenTen gave the 'I'm watching you' sign with her hands and eyes, then flounced away. Neji watched her leave as her mother sat again.

"I apologize for her behavior. But she really is a wonderful girl, believe me. She does everything I say, and so willingly. It's sweet, really."

"Why's she so _happy_ though?" Shikamaru asked. "Her dad just died."

"Oh…" The woman looked away sadly. "She never met her father…" Neji and Shikamaru said nothing but watched expectantly, and she continued. "You see, I moved here from China and met him at the airport. He proposed immediately, and I agreed because I knew he had money. But when I became pregnant, he left me. He left me before TenTen was even born, with barely anything left. I had her, and it was so hard, such a struggle, to take care of her. However, as she grew, she started helping out, and it really did make things easier. Now she has as much of a career as I do, and she's brilliant." She sighed. "TenTen never wanted to meet her father. She was angry at him, I think, for leaving me. When I heard he'd died, well, it was awful. She was sad as well. But it wasn't something for her to mourn about, it was like hearing of something like that on the news."

Neji and Shikamaru shared a look.

"Would you mind if we went to talk with her?" Neji asked.

"Oh, please do. She's in the bedroom to the right down the hall. You can just walk in, she won't mind."

Neji and Shikamaru stood and walked down the hall to her room. Neji opened the door slowly.

TenTen was lying on her stomach on her bed, kicking her boots back and forth in the air, a lollipop in her mouth, reading a small novel. The room was refreshingly different from the rest of the house, slightly messy but otherwise plain, with only one Asian ornament in the corner, a Chinese Dragon painting hung daintily on the wall. When Neji breathed it smelled of hot chocolate.

She looked up when they entered. "What?" she asked simply, blinking at them innocently.

Neji almost laughed. "We need some information." he said.

"And we _are_ priests." Shikamaru said glumly.

TenTen swung herself into a sitting position. "Please. I may be failing classes at school, but I'm not stupid."

"Yeah?" Shikamaru challenged, seeming to get frustrated with the girl. "Then how about this. Name the Binary Ionic Compound for two Rubidium atoms and one Fluoride atom."

Neji literally groaned aloud. Shikamaru was probably the smartest person he knew of, and because he actually _went_ to college, unlike Neji who spent his time training for revenge, and majored in advanced physics and chemistry.

'_I can't believed he asked a high school student such an impossible-_'

"Easy. Rubidium Fluoride." Neji and Shikamaru stared at her. She grinned. "See what I mean?"

"O…kay…" Shikamaru said slowly. "_Why_ are you failing classes…?"

"Because I don't do my homework." she said with a carefree laugh.

"Why not?" Shikamaru asked, bewildered.

"Cause I don't like how they're telling me what to do, how to live." TenTen said, popping the lollipop out and back in to her mouth. "I don't feel like listening to my teachers." Shikamaru snorted, and she frowned. "Hey, I know you think it's just a teenager thing, but it's not. I only do what my mom tells me, and I do that no matter what, unless it hurts or kills her or puts her in any risk. Okay?"

Neji watched her. "And why?" he asked.

She looked back up at him.

"Listen, we didn't come here to ask you that." Shikamaru said before she could respond. "We want to know if you have anything to do with your father's death."

TenTen blinked, then moaned. "Aww…You guys think I did too?! What is this town, medieval?!" She pointed at them. "Listen up, let's get this straight! Yes, I didn't like my dad, but didn't dislike him _personally_! I didn't _kill_ him, if that's what you're thinking, because I don't know anything _about_ him! What is everyone getting so worked up about?!"

Shikamaru exhaled slowly. "Listen, fine, we don't think you did it. But we want to know about-"

"What's on your arm?" Neji asked suddenly.

TenTen blinked. "Huh?" He pointed to her right arm, right near her elbow. A tiny dot of skin was darker than the rest. "Oh, this?" she asked, pointing to it. "Mom said that's my birthmark."

"Let me see it." Neji walked over and sat next to her, taking her arm in his. She looked a little uncomfortable as he examined it. Then he looked at her and let her go. "TenTen…have you noticed bad luck following you?"

"Eh?" She bit her lip. "Um…"

"Tell the truth." he said simply.

She stared at him, a little surprised, then sighed and stared at her lap. "Fine. It's true. Things happen around me…" she said quietly. "People related to me, people I've met…things happen to them. Things I've been around, they seem to break. I don't know, maybe I _am_ cursed…just like everyone says…"

Neji frowned. "Something like that…"

"Wh-What?!" She stared at him, surprised.

"Shikamaru." he said, gesturing him over. He walked over. Neji turned back to TenTen. "Show him your arm real quick." She held her arm up, looking confused. "Take a look." Neji said as Shikamaru bent over it. "What's the 'birthmark' look like?"

"Whoa…" Shikamaru said, eyes widening. "That's in the right place too…"

"What? Seriously!" TenTen insisted.

Neji looked at her. "What's your birthday?"

"Why?"

"Just tell me."

"June thirteenth, nineteen-ninety."

"Friday the thirteenth…" Neji said quietly. "Of course…"

"Huh?" TenTen looked at her mark and back up to Neji. "What's this mean?"

"It means that you, TenTen, _are_ cursed." Shikamaru said. "See, we're not really priests-"

"I figured." she said bluntly.

He coughed. "Yeah…well, really, we're…well…"

"There's nothing to call us." Neji said. "We just hunt demons."

TenTen's eyes widened. "_What_? Are you out of your minds?"

"We're serious." Shikamaru said simply. "We study this. We've seen a lot of victims with this issue."

"What issue?"

"You're cursed." Shikamaru repeated. "You were born on Friday the thirteenth, and so you, TenTen, have a little friend following you around wherever you go."

"What the hell are you talking about?" TenTen demanded angrily, getting frustrated.

"You're cursed with a demon." Neji said simply. "A demon of bad luck. And it's only getting angrier the longer you hold onto it."

"You're crazy." TenTen said, shaking her head and scooting farther back on her bed, away from the two. "This is a fucking birthmark, not a curse mark."

"You have to-"

"Excuse me?"

All three in the room stopped and turned to TenTen's mother. She smiled politely. "Is everything going alright?"

"Everything's fine." TenTen said quickly before Shikamaru or Neji could say anything. "In fact, these two were just about to leave, they're very busy. They'll come back tomorrow to talk more." She gave them a meaningful look, and Neji knew she meant that she wanted to meet with them tomorrow.

"Ah, alright. Thank you both so much for coming, I'll look forward to seeing you again." the woman said, bowing cerimoniously. She left, and TenTen stood, blocking the doorway and glaring at them suspiciously.

"Okay," she said business-like. "I don't know why, but I feel like I'm going to listen to you guys a bit more. So tomorrow, I'll see you at the park down the block after school's out. Try to bring some proof or something, cause I still don't believe you nut-jobs." Shikamaru and Neji nodded numbly, stunned by the attitude. She stood aside. "Now get out of my house. _Now_. Or I'll deal with you myself. I don't like freaks like you around my mom."

Shikamaru and Neji glanced at each other then shrugged it off and left.

As they walked back to the car, Shikamaru snorted.

"Wow. Talked out by a teenage girl. Never thought I'd see the day." he said, shaking his head. "And you, Hyuuga…What's with you? You're not the type to let a chick, let alone a _kid_, talk to you like that."

"Whatever." he muttered. He was still a little surprised, and he didn't know why.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

The next day it was colder. Autumn was fading to winter as November progressed, and TenTen found she could see her breath as she walked with her friends after school. She shivered as a harsh cold breeze blew her hair, drawn in a high pony tail, about her face, and she tugged at the collar of her leather jacket. Today she had a blue and brown striped shirt underneath, over light blue-jeans tucked into brown boots. Warmer than yesterday, she'd learned the hard way.

TenTen wasn't talking with her friends or watching them. But she was thinking about them. Her group that she'd walk home with after school, the people she actually talked to at school, had grown considerately smaller since the accidents started happening. Some were missing because they were in the hospital. Things were falling on them, cars were running into them, freak accidents… And some were just avoiding her. Scared to get hurt as well, or just not wanting to be seen with the town's 'cursed girl'. And now, there were only three left, when before there were about seven. And she knew it was only going to decrease more, till she had no one left at all.

'_Except mom…_' she thought, and smiled a bit.

"Oh, look!" TenTen glanced up when one of her friends pointed excitedly to the park. "Look at _them_! Ah, TenTen, you should go flirt with them, they look your type."

Another one laughed and poked TenTen in the side teasingly. "Ah, don't suggest something like that to TenTen." she said knowledgably. "She's never been interested in…" She stopped. "…Guys…?"

TenTen was running towards the park as fast as she could. She stopped and turned to wave at her friends. "Um…See you tomorrow!" she called awkwardly as they stared at her, then started running again, rolling her eyes as they burst out giggling behind her and walked on.

She slowed when the two older men from yesterday, sitting on the curb of the park, noticed her and waited patiently. She stopped in front of them, catching her breath. "Alright, let's make this quick." she said, sitting next to the one with pale eyes and long brown hair held up in a high pony tail. "First tell me your names." They each raised an eyebrow. "How can I trust you if I don't know your names?" she explained.

The one with the dark eyes and hair smirked. "Shikato and Hiashi." Neji rested his forehead in his hand.

TenTen frowned. "Your _real_ names."

The two glanced at each other. The pale-eyed one turned back. "I'm Neji Hyuuga, this is my friend Shikamaru Nara."

"Alright…Well, you know me. I'm TenTen. I don't have a last name, it's sort of a Chinese thing. I wasn't born in China, but you know, I stick to the culture and all." She leaned back on the curb. "Did you bring proof or what?"

"Sort of." Neji said. "Here, let me see your arm, okay?"

TenTen obeyed hesitantly, watching him warily all the time with great suspicion. But she instantly relaxed when he took her arm and pushed her sleeve over her elbow. His hands were gentle.

He looked at her, and she found herself having to fight an instinctive blush. "This is going to hurt a bit. Are you up to it?"

"What…do you mean?" TenTen asked slowly. She saw Neji take out a small leather bag of something. "What's that…?"

"Pure salt grains that have been dipped in holy water." Neji responded. "Salt, iron, and holy water are the only things that can effect or dissolve a demon, and combined they're stronger."

"You're saying I'm a demon and you're gonna dissolve me?!" she cried, trying to pull away from him.

Neji laughed, and Shikamaru shook his head. "Don't be stupid, we're just gonna make the demon show it's face for a second so you can see it."

"It's going to hurt your curse mark a bit, and it'll be a struggle, so you have to stay calm, alright?" Neji said, looking straight into her eyes. She nodded numbly, seeming lost in those orbs of violet as if she was hypnotized, and Neji handed the bag to Shikamaru, who opened it and extracted a tiny grain of salt. He brushed it off his fingers into Neji's hand, who held it over TenTen's 'curse mark' steadily, watching her. Then, he pressed it onto the mark with a finger, hard.

"_Oww_!" she yelled out in surprise, feeling a searing pain rush through her mark, especially burning the mark. She heard a hissing noise and turned around as Neji let go of her arm, and her eyes widened.

In front of her was a black creature, made entirely of smoke, billowing in the air. It didn't really have a shape, but it was almost like a dragon. It didn't move, not even the wings. It somehow just floated there. And what confused her was it was _smoke_. Just _smoke_. Not matter, not anything, just ash, steam.

And suddenly the wings spread open, and it screeched. It was unlike any noise she'd ever heard of. A scream, a shriek, of despair and longing and hatred for the world. Fury, terror, with blood and tears mixed in…

Suddenly there was a bang, and the creature rippled away into the air, dissipating immediately. TenTen sat there, staring at mid-air, until she turned her head slowly to see Neji holding up a gun calmly.

"Iron bullets." he said simply. "Are you alright?"

TenTen swallowed hard, clearing her dry throat. "I think I believe you now…"

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"So…you're demon hunters." TenTen said as she sat with Neji and Shikamaru back at her house. She was digging into a bag of skittles. "And you found out about my case on the internet and decided to check it out. And there are…_demons_…and there's a…_Hell_?"

"That's about right." Shikamaru said.

"So there's a God…?" TenTen asked, looking surprised.

"We don't think so." Neji said. "That's still a mystery to us. But you can believe whatever you want."

"Okay…So there's a demon feeding off of me?"

"Quite literally…" Shikamaru said lazily, nodding his head at the skittles.

"So…that's why I've been having these urges for candy all the time recently…?" TenTen said thoughtfully.

"Yep. Cause the sugar's giving you energy, the energy that you've been giving to the demon."

"Energy for what?" she asked with her mouth full, not seeming to care she seemed slightly glutinous.

"For it to invisibly reach out and injure people. It can take over objects or bend things of it's own will. Sometimes if you're mad at someone, it'll attack that person for you, because demon's tend to be pretty fond of their vessels." Shikamaru said.

"Ugh! I can't believe it's living inside of me!" she said, throwing an orange skittle into her mouth as she tipped her head back.

"Not really." Neji said suddenly. "It's not inside of you. It's just using you as a way to get out of Hell. You can only see it when you press salt, holy water, or iron to your curse mark, and that's because the curse is being activated and the demon can slip through you to Hell. It can't leave your side, but wherever you go it can reach through you at any time and effect the surroundings."

"…Oh…But why _now_?! I mean, it's never given me any clues _before_!"

Neji sighed. "That's right…Why's it acting up _now_?" He turned to TenTen. "When did the accidents start happening, do you remember?"

TenTen frowned, concentrating. "The first one I can remember is a couple months ago at my eighteenth birthday. My friends all pitched in and got me a cake, and somehow the cake just flew through the air into a girl's face."

"Eighteenth birthday?!" Shikamaru snapped his fingers. "Of course! Eighteen's the age you're officially recognized as an adult, you're finally developed!"

Neji nodded. "Right! And so the demon is too, and it can do what it wants! It'll start to try and please you, getting rid of everyone around you. Especially blood relatives, which are easier to access through Hell. Which explains your dad."

"Wh-What?! You're saying it really _is_ my fault, all this?!"

"No." Neji said quickly. "You don't know how to control it yet, that take immense emotional skill."

"So I cant stop it?! Where's it going to target next?!"

All three of them stared at each other in silence, then at the same time seemed to understand. TenTen dropped the bag of skittles, the little beads of candy rolling across the floor with a clatter. "_Mom_!"

"TenTen, wait, you don't know for sure!" Neji called after her as she dashed to the door, throwing it open. She stood, back to the door, facing them, her pony-tail swinging.

"My mom matters to me more than anything! She's been there for me through everything, I have to protect her and do what she says, no matter what! If there's even a chance she could get hurt, I have to be there! You should know, you're family!"

Their eye's both widened and they glanced at each other. "We never said…" Neji said uncertainly, but Shikamaru just stood and walked over to her, and Neji sighed and did the same.

She frowned and turned around again.

Every muscle in her body seemed to stop working, and she froze in place.

She turned only to see, and Neji and Shikamaru saw the same, something that made her heart burn, her lungs halt.

Her mother lay on the ground in front of the porch. Not moving. Not breathing. Not living.

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Are you ready, man?" Shikamaru asked.

Neji shifted uncomfortably. "I guess…"

They stood on the porch outside of TenTen's house a day later, late at night. The police had investigated and the people at the hospital said to a paralyzed TenTen that her mother had had a heart attack which had killed her. After that, the police said since TenTen was eighteen and legally an adult, she would have to live on her own. She was allowed a small amount of government funding, but, even though she had no other relatives to go to, she wasn't allowed in a foster home.

TenTen had let Neji and Shikamaru drive her home, but she didn't say a word even when they dropped her off back at her house. She didn't even shed a tear. It was like she was suddenly numb and couldn't think.

They were here now to help, and to apologize.

Neji exhaled, his breath billowing in front of him. He didn't know why he felt so bad for this girl. He hadn't for any other victims he'd helped out in the past. Why _this particular girl_?

Shikamaru coughed from the cold, and so Neji cleared his thoughts and knocked on the door.

It took a while, but it opened and TenTen stood there. Her face was flushed and her hair was down. When she saw who it was, she turned away. "I knew you'd be coming." she said hoarsely. She opened the screen door clumsily to let them in, closing it again quickly. All the lights were turned off except a few candles on the coffee table, lighting the room with a flickering, warm red glow.

TenTen took a deep shuddering breath and let it out while sitting down on a mat. The other two sat in front of her without speaking, honoring her mourning traditionally.

They were absolutely silent for a while. Neji thought he could hear the wind blowing.

"Thanks for coming." TenTen said finally. "I wanted to show you guys something, actually…"

"What?" Neji asked quietly.

She looked up. "Let's just say I know what you meant by 'immense emotional skill'. See, I was thinking all day yesterday, really hard, and all day today, and…well, look at this."

She lifted a hand, furrowing her brows in concentration, and suddenly a thin metal spoon on the coffee table lifted into the air. She let out a deep breath quickly, and it dropped again with a clink.

"I can control the demon now, sorta. I can make it move metals. The only metal I can't move is iron, and I guess that explains itself." TenTen said as Neji's eyes widened, impressed.

"Wh…Whoa." Shikamaru said, stunned. "It usually takes much more training to master a demon."

TenTen shrugged. "Not everyone's an orphan."

Neji blinked. '_She has a point…_' he thought slowly. '_Her mom's death must have only made her stronger._' He watched her. "Have you been eating?"

She laughed hollowly. "No. That's probably why I'm so tired…" She sighed. "So are you here to get this demon out of me?" she asked.

Neji shook his head. "No. We did some research, and the only way to get it out of you is to kill you."

TenTen stiffened. Neji couldn't see her face as she stared at the ground, her bangs covering her eyes and her hair creating a curtain from the other two. "…Then why don't you…?" she whispered.

Neji narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the door bell rang.

Shikamaru stood and looked out the peephole. He sighed. "It's the press, TenTen."

"Do you want us to deal with them? You look a little too tired." Neji volunteered gently.

TenTen nodded wordlessly and retreated to the kitchen as Neji walked up next to Shikamaru. "She was crying." Neji said softly under his breath as TenTen closed the kitchen door. "You can tell."

"Yeah, but you have to admit. She's a tough little thing." Shikamaru said. Neji laughed grimly, agreeing wholeheartedly. And he opened the door.

It was just as Shikamaru had said. A man stood on TenTen's porch with a voice recorder in one hand and a pen and notebook in another. He blinked, then smiled politely. "Excuse me, um, is a Miss TenTen available?"

As a response, Shikamaru and Neji simultaneously pulled out their fake badges. "FBI." Neji said in a professional monotone. "We don't want to see you around the premises again."

The man's eyes widened. "U-Um, yes sir…"

"And please tell the local press not to bother TenTen anymore." Neji added, then closed the door on the surprised man's face.

Shikamaru laughed immediately. "Man, you were good, you almost sounded like you were really angry." he said as they replaced their badges in their jean pockets. "I never get tired of fooling those idiots."

Neji rolled his eyes, but he was smirking. It felt good, chasing them away from TenTen.

But then he blinked. There on the coffee table was his jacket, and it looked like it had been gone through. He walked over and reached into a pocket only to feel emptiness. "The bag of salt's missing…" he said, confused.

"Neji." He looked up and saw Shikamaru watching the kitchen door. The lights were on, and they heard something, almost like a rippling or the sound of static electricity.

Both of them ran into the kitchen and crashed through the door to see TenTen facing the black smoky demon, a determined look on her face. One hand was pressing the salt to her arm, dropping it slowly. And the other held an iron knife.

She glanced at Neji and Shikamaru, startled, then narrowed her eyes and looked away. The demon flew at them and pressed them against the counter. Neji winced in pain when his back slammed against the marble.

Shikamaru grit his teeth. "You little idiot, what do you think you're doing?!" he yelled as TenTen didn't move, just held the knife in her hand tightly.

"The only way to get rid of the demon is to die." she said softly.

"You're being stupid! Why would you want to kill yourself?!" Shikamaru demanded, struggling.

"Why?!" She turned to him angrily, and Neji saw tears spilling from her eyes. "My mom died because of me! I couldn't stop this stupid thing!" They said nothing. "You don't know what it's like!" TenTen continued, sobbing. "I don't have anyone left, no one to do anything for…! You have no idea-!"

"Yes we do." She stopped yelling when she heard the calmness of the voice that spoke and turned to Neji. He stared right into her eyes almost desperately. "My father died because of a demon. And someone very close to Shikamaru was killed by that same demon literaly a couple days ago." TenTen's eyes widened. She hadn't known that. "We know exactly how you feel." he continued softly. "_I_ know how you feel, for sure. And I don't want you to kill yourself." Shikamaru stopped struggling against the demon and watched Neji. "You'll do what _I_ say from now on." Neji said. "Turn that leech into power that you can help us with. All you have to do is put the demon back and let us go." TenTen stared at him. She looked scared, confused, angry, sad. But he knew those feelings. He knew them by heart. He wasn't going to pity her.

"TenTen, do it now." he ordered harshly.

And she obeyed. The demon disappeared, rippling into the air.

TenTen started to cry. Neji watched her. "TenTen." he said. She looked up at him, wiping away her tears. "Come with us."

She stared at him, then she laughed a bit through her tears. Finally he could see relief flow through her.

"Yes sir."

Neji smiled.

_. . . he would have passed a pleasant life of it,  
in despite of the devil and all his works,  
if his path had not been crossed by a being that causes  
more perplexity to mortal man than ghosts,  
goblins, and the whole race of witches put together,  
and that was--a woman._  
_- The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow from Washington Irving_

3

_**a/n:**_ I will take this time to point out that I am, in fact, an atheist, but I mean to offend no one when I mention God or Gods of any kind in the future in this story. Because there will be more than one God in this story, if you're wondering. Any complaints regarding religion from here on out will be promptly ignored, or marked as abuse, because frankly it offends me when people insult my atheism, as much as it might offend you if someone questions your own religion or beliefs. So don't even bother, please and thanks. :)

On a lighter note, I love her I love her I love her! I love TenTen in this story! XD By the way, yeah, I know that it's not TenTen's real birthday. :P

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	4. Wind

equilibrium

4

_Masquerading as a man with a reason  
My charade is the event of the season  
And if I claim to be a wise man, well  
It surely means that I don't know_

"TenTen, would you stop popping that gum?! You're driving me up a fucking wall, and I can't _sleep_!"

TenTen sighed as she sat in the backseat of Neji's car, feet up and lounging against the window while chomping on chewing gum. "Sorry, but I just feel like I have to pop it when I chew it."

"Then don't chew it!"

"I have to chew _something_! I haven't been eating enough and that demon's barely letting me lift a finger!"

"Eat something less noisy, then."

"No, then I'll feel like a pig!"

"TenTen, stop arguing." Neji said.

"Yes sir!" she said quickly.

They had been traveling together for two days. At first it was awkward, a teenage girl that didn't even act her age, as smart as she was, traveling with two older men. But soon her open mind and the other two's carelessness, along with the clashing of her outgoing personality, created a comfortable atmosphere between the three. Besides, she'd pointed out, Shikamaru was nineteen so he was only a year older than her, and Neji was twenty, two years older than her, so it was like 'a sophomore being friends with a junior and a senior in high school'.

Now Shikamaru snorted. "Wow, she's like your bitch, Neji."

"Shut it." Neji muttered, turning red. Fortunately TenTen was sticking in some head phones and tuning into her iPod and didn't hear a word they were saying.

TenTen had proven useful. Now they were after another sighting that TenTen had found on the internet. She seemed to owe some sort of debt to Neji; everything he told her to do she'd do eagerly and willingly with the happy response, "Yes sir!" For some reason, that just seemed to make her even cuter in Neji's eyes, making it a little harder for him to tell her to do things, but he found he was getting used to it, and he was growing quite fond of the cheerful response he'd get. It just reassured him she was herself.

"Hey, feel lucky, Neji, she practically lives for you and you alone." Shikamaru said, smirking. "I wish _I_ had a little servant sometimes."

"She's not a servant." Neji responded, a little annoyed. "And no one would do anything for a lazy slob like you anyways."

When Shikamaru had asked why she wouldn't do anything for _him_, she looked him over and simply told him that he hadn't helped her at all back in Michigan, and she also didn't like the way he looked, which made Neji extremely amused and caused Shikamaru to sulk in a grouchy silence for an hour.

"Oh, hey, we're in Arizona!" TenTen said excitedly, throwing the headphones from her ears, swiveling around, and pressing her hands to the window. " 'Welcome to Arizona. The Grand Canyon state.' Oh, are we gonna get to see it?!"

"Probably not, we're just going to Phoenix, and the Grand Canyon's quite a ways away." Neji said. "With all the smog from the big city, I doubt we'll see any canyon's at all."

"Ah…Oh well, it's not that big of a deal. I used to go to the U.P. all the time and go skiing, so I've seen my fill of landmarks."

"The what?" Shikamaru asked as Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. The Upper Peninsula, we call it the U.P. in Michigan. There's a lot of places to go skiing there."

"Ah…so you're used to the cold?" Neji asked.

"Mhm. Why?"

"You'll probably be relieved. It's a desert here, so…"

"Oh! Yeah! It doesn't snow here!" TenTen cried, eyes big. "_Wow_! What must it be like during the winter…?"

Neji laughed. "We never got much snow either." he said.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, we were lucky to get an inch."

"Seriously? That's lame." TenTen said. Neji and Shikamaru both smiled a bit in spite of themselves. She grinned. "Oh, since we're in a desert now, I won't need this, then, will I?" She removed her jacket over the long sleeved black shirt with a hot pink tank over it with white polka-dots scattering it over jeans and black flats. She grinned. "Wow this is gonna be weird."

"You've never left Michigan?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nope, never. I could never afford it. And I've never been in a big city before either." TenTen grinned. "So this should be fun!"

"Eh, don't count on it." Shikamaru muttered. "Fighting these creeps is _not_ going to be fun. Which reminds me, do you know how to fight?"

"Of course!" TenTen said, looking insulted that he'd question something like that of her. "I beat up three upper-class boys when I was a freshman."

"What grade were they in?"

"They were seniors."

"And you were a freshman?" Neji asked, blinking.

"Mhm! And I'm proud of it!"

"Why'd you beat them up…?" he asked.

She sighed. "Long story…Let's just say no one insults my mom and gets away with it."

Neji smiled a bit. "Well, that's good. You'll need to know how to fight, and with the combined efforts of the demon you've learned to control, it'll probably be easier."

"So you guys said something about Phoenix Arizona…why are we goin there again?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because that's where the sighting was." TenTen said. "An entire gang of full grown men was defeated."

"So what?"

"They all swore it was a witch."

Shikamaru picked his head off the window. "Ah…"

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Have you guys ever fought a witch before?" TenTen asked. They were lugging their baggage down the brilliantly lit sidewalk to their room in a motel in a small town off of proper Phoenix, about a mile away from the edge of the city. Neji had signed them in for a few days, so they were all set.

"Me and Shikato ran into a witch once before he disappeared." Neji said.

"Really? What could she do?"

"Everything, with one hand." he said truthfully, almost bitterly with the memory of the demon. "And she knew every hex you can think of."

"…Hex…?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't know about those." Shikamaru said. "Hexes…Witches place leather bags, with bones and different items inside, around a room. These are called hex bags. The witch can make anything happen with it once she's placed a spell on it. Usually the witch places it in someone's care that has done them wrong, and usually the person they're angry at, well, dies. The only way to stop the spell is to burn the hex bag, and you have to find it first."

"O-Oh…" TenTen frowned as she shifted her bag on her shoulder. "So we're going up against someone like _that_?"

"We can't be too sure." Shikamaru said. "She might just be an average demon in a girl's body that's being mistaken for legends."

"Oh, okay…So can we get the demon out?"

"Probably." Shikamaru said. "Not everyone has a case like yours, where you have to kill the person to get the demon out. In fact it's pretty rare. You can usually just draw a symbol on the ground with chalk real quick, which traps em in, then you just recite a fun little limerick, and ding dong the demon's dead."

She laughed. "You two are weird, you know that?"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Don't stick me in along the lines of _him_."

"Hey, you're both the same."

"Alright, here's our room." Shikamaru said loudly before Neji could say anything.

TenTen clapped her hands together as Neji opened the door. "Okay, usual rules apply." she said.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru muttered as Neji laughed a bit.

Bathroom was off limits when TenTen was inside, and put the lid down. That was all she'd said, and before asking Neji if that was alright with him too. She really felt like she owed a lot to him. She had to make it up somehow, and so she knew that the rest of her life would be dedicated to him. She didn't care, really. She liked obeying his orders, like she used to for her mother. She didn't want to be a burden, so she'd make the most of her existence. And he was nice, too…

They all entered the room and first thing Neji did after he dropped his bags by one of the four beds was hook up the laptop. When he was done, he turned to the girl on one of the beds, popping some tic-tac's into her mouth again. "TenTen, could you research a bit more and tell me where we can find some people from that gang you were talking about?' Neji asked as Shikamaru plopped down on a bed and lit a cigarette. Smoking was an annoying habit he'd picked up when Asuma died that Neji did not have the guts to comment about, since he remembered Asuma would smoke all the time.

"Yes sir." TenTen said cheerfully, dragging a chair over to the table where the laptop was and opening up the internet. As it loaded, she glanced at Neji. "What are _you_ two gonna be doing?"

"_Shikamaru_ can check the place for hex-bags, just in case, while I try to call Shikato again." Neji said, shoving his lazy friend off the bed, who groaned and obeyed.

"Shikato? Oh, that's right." TenTen had been informed by Neji and Shikamaru their story in the car in exact detail, so she knew most everything about them. Neji didn't seem to mind, but Shikamaru probably thought it a little annoying. Of course, TenTen recalled as Neji listened to his cell phone, Shikamaru thought everything was annoying.

"Damn, not again…" Neji muttered.

Shikamaru glanced at him. "Didn't get him?" he asked.

"Nope."

Shikamaru made a noise from his throat that clearly symbolized a dangerous frustration. Neji didn't look at Shikamaru, but his pale eyes had a touch of sadness and anger in them. TenTen felt the atmosphere in the room begin to darken, and she quickly turned back to the internet, feeling uncomfortably like a third wheel.

"TenTen, did you come up with anything yet?"

"N-No, I'm still looking."

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"…Where…did you get these…?" TenTen asked awkwardly as they sat in the motel, Neji going through his case of fake ID's. She'd finally gotten the address of one of the gang members from an article, and they were getting ready to head down to Phoenix and interview him now.

"Online." Neji said honestly, wanting to laugh at her reaction. "You can be anyone you want with these."

"So that's how you were pretending to be priests?"

"Unfortunately yes." Shikamaru muttered, sending Neji a look. "And that will _never happen again._"

Neji rolled his eyes at the exaggeratingly articulated slowness of the last three words. "Today we're going to be FBI again, Shikamaru, so you don't have to worry."

"FBI?! Cool!" TenTen said, grinning childishly. This time Neji had to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"Seriously, Neji?" Shikamaru asked dully. "_Her _too? Is that believable?"

Neji looked TenTen over as she blinked innocently at them. '_True…_' he thought. '_Way too young. She acts even younger than she is, and she looks younger than she is too…_'

TenTen, however, seemed to realize what they were thinking and grinned. "Hold on a second." She pulled her hair out of the two long braids, ran her fingers through the long locks that Neji's eyes caught on almost impulsively, and then pulled her hair back into a single bun and brushed her bangs to the side.

She immediately looked considerably older, like a woman in her twenties. But she was also very beautiful and respectful looking.

Shikamaru laughed a bit. "Well, _that's_ covered."

TenTen giggled proudly. "Mom made me do this whenever we had company or we went to a special occasion. She said it made me look '_proper_'."

Neji tore his eyes away from her and coughed. "Uh, perfect." he said, scratching the bridge of his nose. "Well, then, let's get going…"

muirbiliuqe

Neji took a sip of coke and swallowed the fizzing liquid. They were now in proper Phoenix. Shikamaru was pretty much out of it, closing his eyes and listening to the music from Jet that he'd stuck into the car. TenTen was in the back seat eating a candy bag and practicing with her power. She was experimenting with an iPod she'd gotten from her purse. Since the whole thing wasn't metal except for the back, it was hard for her, but she was managing.

Neji remembered she hadn't looked out the window in a while since she was so concentrated. Before, she had been practically bouncing up and down in her seat when she spotted the buildings of Phoenix in the distance.

"TenTen, you know that we're here, right?" he asked.

TenTen dropped her iPod into her hand and looked up. "Huh?!" She whipped around and beamed. "_Whoa_! Look, they're even bigger up close!"

Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open, and he snorted. "Wake me up why don't you."

"Haven't you ever seen a skyscraper, TenTen?" Neji asked as he stopped at a red light, fingers drumming on the steering wheel to the music impatiently.

"Nope! Remember, small town girl." She pointed to herself.

"Well…" Shikamaru straightened up and stretched, grabbing the coke from Neji and sipping it himself. "You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

"Pfft. '_The Wizard Of Oz_' reference? Lame!" TenTen sang. She pressed her hands to the window eagerly. "Neat! I think that's a hobo!"

"It's just a guy wearing fingerless gloves and a skull cap."

"Yeah, hobo!"

"We're here." Neji said loudly, interrupting Shikamaru before he could argue. He swung the car around and parked at the side of the street by a meter in front of a cheap apartment complex. All three got out and Neji fed the meter before they went up to the apartment.

"Alright, let's see…" TenTen said. "The guy we want is Al…Gimmer…" She snorted. "Hah, Gimmer…Um, okay, he's number twenty." She covered her sniggers with a hand.

Shikamaru pressed the buzzer and they waited for a bit.

"Yeah?" A gruff voice asked through the speaker, which hissed a bit with faltering and poorly constructed electricity. "Who is it?"

"FBI." Neji said clearly. "We're here to investigate what happened the other day with your, um…gang."

"Eh? FBI, like for serious?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"…Er, yes, for…serious." Neji said, shaking his head. TenTen covered her giggles with both her hands and Shikamaru smirked. "We'll need you to come down here please, or we can go up there."

"N-Nah, nah, I'll be down there in a sec, uh…yeah." His voice halted and there was a sound of something being let go.

TenTen burst out laughing. "For serious!" she said gleefully. "Gang types are awful."

"You're telling me." Shikamaru muttered. "Alright, time to play pretend for our customer, then, I can see him coming down the stairs." He could see through the glass a man coming down a set of stairs. His face was dirty and unshaven, his eyes hooded and rimmed in red. He'd obviously been taking some sort of drugs.

He got to the door and puffed his cheeks out as he exhaled, seeing them. Neji immediately brought out his fake badge, and the man relaxed a bit.

"Alright, so whadya want?" the man asked almost rudely. "If you wanna know who attacked me, I swear to God I'm tellin' the truth when I tell ya."

"We'll believe you." Neji said.

"Seriously…" Shikamaru added in a mutter as TenTen nodded.

The man scratched his head, wrinkling his nose a bit. "Aw 'right…well…me and some o' my, uh, friends, were out and we got into this alley…"

"Which one's this?" Shikamaru asked.

"There's one down the street between the corner store and Wallgreen's. Kind big, kinda small, ya know what I'm talkin about?"

Neji blinked. "Uh…sure…"

"Go on." TenTen said.

"Well, we were back there and this little girl comes along while we were…ya know…and…"

"And?" Neji pressed when the man hesitated.

"Yer not gonna arrest me, are ya?"

"No." Shikamaru said. "Go on."

"Uh…Well so that little girl comes along takin' a short cut somewhere, and we were…well, we were _stoned_, ya know?! We didn't like a kid comin' along in our area all hunky dory. So, we, well…"

"Let me guess, you started harassing her for no apparent reason." TenTen said dully, looking slightly disgusted.

"Well when ya put it that way…"

"Just tell us what happened after that, please." Shikamaru said impatiently.

"Aw 'right. Well, we heard someone say 'You're pathetic if you think you can take it out on a kid.', and we turned and saw this…_really_ hot chick…like in her nineteen or twenties, couldn't tell, but she was damn…_sexy_…"

"What did she look like, I mean features?" Shikamaru asked.

"Short blonde hair and blue eyes…and a nice damn body." the man said, nudging Neji who raised an eyebrow and stepped out of the way.

"So what happened next?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, the chick just raised a hand and brought it down, and…" The man shook his head. "I dunno, dude, but the _wind_…!"

"The…wind…?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Ya'll gotta believe me, the wind was so strong it made all of us fly into a wall and most of us cracked our skulls open! It was awful, I thought I was gonna fuckin' die, ya know?! It was like…God, I dunno, it was _crazy_! And then the chick, all cool and whatnot, just walked over, took the kid in her arms, and walked away while askin' the girl if she was okay! It was fuckin crazy, I swear to _god_ that lady was a witch!" He watched as all three just stared at him, looking thoughtful.

"Ya'll…Ya'll believe me, right…?"

"Thank you, that's all we needed." Neji said, glancing at Shikamaru and TenTen.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"I dunno, man, it sounds like a witch to me." Neji said as he, Shikamaru and TenTen walked down the crowded sidewalk of Phoenix. The traffic was awful, and the sounds of cars beeping loudly and people shouting were getting to be as common a sound as crickets at night.

TenTen shaded her eyes from the blinding sun. "You think that he was telling the truth, it wasn't just the drugs?" she asked.

"Not positive, but it sounds believable." Shikamaru said. "A witch could be the person we're after."

"So all we have to do is…?"

"Try and find her." Neji said, shrugging. "It'll be hard, but me and Shikato have gotten them before."

Shikamaru looked sideways at Neji, annoyed. The name sent a spark of anger rushing through him. "Hyuuga, would you stop talking about Shikato like that?"

Neji looked forward and narrowed his eyes. "No. Why are you so worked up whenever I say his name?"

"Maybe because _daddy's boy_ here isn't even related to him _at all_."

"For the last time, Shikamaru…" Neji said. "I was only going around with him to get revenge for my dad."

TenTen was watching them, discreetly slipping behind them so she wouldn't get in the way.

"Yeah, well it looks more like you're trying to be my brother instead of my best friend right now."

"Would you stop saying that?!"

"Stop saying th-oof!"

"Ouch!"

Neji and TenTen stopped when Shikamaru ran into another woman, both of them stumbling backwards and almost falling.

The woman had soft, light blonde hair, that was short and barely brushed her bare shoulders, covered by a tight black tank over jeans and black boots peeking beneath the hems. She had pale skin, smooth, used to the desert sun. And her eyes were like the sky, perfectly blue and shining with sunlight, glittering and reflecting the world.

She looked up to glare at Shikamaru, and he saw her lips were a perfect shade of light pink, curving in a frown. And she was dangerously, strikingly gorgeous. Behind her were two men, one a brunette and one a red-head.

"Watch where you're going." she snapped. Her voice was low, and it sounded like the wisp of a lukewarm breeze.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Why should I?"

She put a hand on her hips. "Oh I dunno, you don't look _blind_ to me." she said, rolling her eyes impatiently. "Dumbass."

Shikamaru frowned. "Troublesome…" he muttered.

"_What_?"

"I meant that _you_ were the one that ran into _me_."

The woman's lips opened, surprised. He wondered why she was so astonished by that. He was standing up for himself. That was fine, right?

"Jack-ass!"

Nope, apparently not. She was back to her old self again, and she pushed past him.

"Come on, Gaara, Kankerou, hurry up!" she called over her shoulder to the other two, ignoring a couple gazing at her in awe, three girls pointing and giggling, and a man eyeing her chest, in the crowd. The other two men that had been accompanying her shared a look, then sighed and followed.

"Sorry bout her, dude." the brunette said as he passed Shikamaru, patting him on the chest.

Shikamaru just raised an eyebrow as the red-head gave him an apologetic look. He saw the man that had been staring at her chest now gawking at her behind and tapped him on the shoulder, shaking him out of his trance.

"Hey, who is that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Her? You _would_ like to know, you're pro'lly new to this town." the man said, grinning suggestively. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and the man explained. "She's Temari Subaku, probably the coolest and most famous chick in Arizona."

"Famous for what?" Shikamaru asked.

The man laughed. "For being so fucking _awesome_!"

Shikamaru watched the blonde argue with the other two. Blue eyes flashing, flawless lips frowning, a dainty hand on her slim hip as she argued with the brunette man. And he saw something on the back of her tank, as well. '_Creedence Clearwater Revival_' in clear white print near the bottom.

"Humph. She's nothin' special." Shikamaru muttered, walking back to Neji and TenTen with his hands in his pockets. But he was lying to himself, and he knew it; she sure seemed awesome to him.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Um…Hello?"

Neji, Shikamaru, and TenTen stood on the porch of the Subaku residence later that day after they'd done some research on the family. The air was lukewarm, and the sun was as bright as always in Arizona. The brunette man from earlier greeted them at the door of a small flat with a poorly-kept lawn and screen-door-less, wooden front porch.

"FBI." Shikamaru said, pulling out his fake badge. "Can we speak to Temari Subaku?"

The man's eyes widened. "My sister?"

"I believe you're Kankerou or Gaara, one of Temari's younger brothers?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, Kankerou…Damn it, what did she do now?!" He sighed, running a hand through his scruffy hair. "Come in, then, come in…"

He opened the door, and they entered the living room, or at least that's what it looked like. There was a sofa with one cushion missing and a large brown pillow there as a replacement in front of a small television. CD's, very familiar to Shikamaru, were everywhere, all old rock, scattered across the very torn, dirty and stained beige carpet. Incense was puffing away on a table from a skull-and-bones decorated burner. A huge black stereo system was in a corner, playing some soft song from _The Cranberries_.

Shikamaru tried not to smile; it felt a lot like home.

"Temari, get in here!"

"What is it Kankerou?" Temari emerged from a hallway as Kankerou closed the door behind them. She spotted Shikamaru and glared. "What's _this_ jackass doing here?"

Shikamaru's eye twitched.

"They're the _FBI_, Temari." Kankerou said darkly, eyeing her suspiciously.

Temari blinked. "What, you're gonna arrest me for running into you? Sheesh."

"No. But at least you admitted you were the one that ran into me." Shikamaru muttered.

"Sh-Shut up!" Again, she looked surprised that he was actually standing up for himself, stuttering while looking him over, seeming confused.

"We'll need to speak with her alone please." Neji said, gesturing to Kankerou. He sighed and nodded, leaving the room.

Immediately, Neji threw something at Temari; a jug of something.

She caught it, fumbling a bit, and looked up at him. "…Um…?"

"Drink it." he said simply.

Temari stared at him. "Are you poisoning me or something?"

"No." Neji said. "It won't kill you, I promise."

"Now just drink it." Shikamaru said. "Or we can always take you down to the station."

Temari watched them. "…Okay, fine, fine…I don't know what the fuck this is about though…" She eyed the jug, then sighed and took a swig. She swallowed. A couple seconds ticked by. Then her eyes grew huge, and she coughed, smoke escaping her mouth. She clutched her stomach.

"Oww! What the hell?!" she cried, obviously in great pain.

"Holy water." Neji said.

"You lying son of a-!"

"I didn't lie, I said it wouldn't kill you. It won't, it'll just hurt a little in your stomach."

"What the hell do you think you're trying to do?!"

"Expose a witch." Shikamaru said.

"Wh…_What_?!"

"You heard me."

"You idiots! I'm not a freaking witch!"

"Think we should torture her, Neji?"

"No, stop it, don't hurt her!" TenTen said quickly before Neji could respond, stepping in front of Temari with her arms spread wide.

"_Thank_ you!" Temari said, wincing at the strain on her stomach.

"You can't be so inhumane." TenTen continued. "Even if she _is_ a witch."

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Temari asked, groaning.

TenTen blinked innocently as Neji sighed. "Listen, Temari, we don't want to hurt you-"

"Maybe _you_ don't." Shikamaru said beneath his breath. Temari flicked him off.

Neji ignored that. "Just tell us what you are."

Temari stared at them, then she sighed. "Fine…If a witch is what you're looking for, you don't have one. I'm…something else."

"So you're a demon?" TenTen asked.

"No. If you want a _demon_, that's my dad. And he's dead."

"Your dad was a demon…?"

"And my mom was a human."

"Wait, so…" Shikamaru said slowly.

"Right." Temari narrowed her eyes. "I'm a _half _demon."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"My father married my mom, and, well, she had me. I was sort of a mistake, you know." Temari said. They were all sitting on the sofa, listening to Temari's story, after they'd calmed each other down. "She didn't know my dad was a demon, so she didn't tell him she was pregnant. Thought it would be a nice surprise. But he knew how bad it was, and told her he was a demon. She loved him so much by then, well, she didn't really care, and so they raised me. I'm not a full-fledged demon, and I'm not immortal, but there's some demon blood in me."

"What about your brothers?" Neji asked.

Temari shrugged. "Well, my mom had an affair with another man a bit after she had me, so a year later she had a son - Kankerou - who was some other man's son. And a year after that, well, she had affair with _another_ man, and had Gaara. My dad tried to deal with it, but…well…" She clenched a fist. "He treated me way better than Kankerou and Gaara. It was awful, I hated it. I told mom, and, well, she didn't care…And then, my dad was killed."

"How?" TenTen asked softly.

"A hunter came and took him." Temari said under her breath. "My mom was distressed. And she moved out as soon as I turned eighteen. I had to take care of Kankerou and Gaara by myself. It was freaking hard, trust me. I felt like one of those slutty teenage mothers that put out at a really young age, you know what I mean?" Shikamaru snorted, and she narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to the others. "But I managed…even though I think my mom's a bitch…" She clapped her hands together. "Well I think I told you enough. Is that all you need, '_FBI_'?"

"Wait, one more thing." Neji said. "If you have demon blood in you, you must have a power."

She smirked grimly. "Uh huh. Like this." She raised a hand, then slashed it through the air. A strong breeze blew through the room. TenTen's hair came out of it's bun, and Neji winced. Shikamaru's eyes widened. "I can control the wind and air around me." she said. "It takes some effort, but I'm getting the hang of it."

"_Whoa._" TenTen said, eyes big.

Temari looked at her. "Now I'm sure you're not FBI…"

TenTen laughed.

"Alright, alright, so you're the one that took out that gang?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, but only cause they were about to beat up a little girl. I mean, come on!"

"Oh, okay, so you're a _good_ demon!" TenTen said, beaming.

Temari stared at her strangely. "Uh…whatever you say, sunshine…" Shikamaru had to stop himself from laughing, and he sighed.

"So you're saying we came here for _nothing_?"

"Whadya mean?"

"We came here to kill a witch, and we find a harmless half-demon." he said. "What a waste of time."

Temari's mouth opened wordlessly. Shikamaru smirked. Women; truly pathetic in every way, by nature. Couldn't say anything unless it was against all logic whatsoever, and couldn't even stand up for themselves correctly when someone insulted them. Cowardly. Drama Queens. As usual, he could get away with-

SLAP!

He blinked and put a hand to his face. It was burning. He turned his head to stare at Temari, shocked.

"Shut up." she said dangerously. Her hand was in the air, the hand she'd used to maneuver the wind to slap his cheek to the side. "_No one_ talks to me like that and gets away with it. This is my city, kid. I didn't _ask_ for you to burst into my house, pretending to be FBI, and pour holy water down my throat and then start to interrogate me. I didn't _have_ to tell you my damn story, hell I barely tell my _brothers_ any of that shit. _You're_ the fucker that wasted _my_ time. Now get out of my house, all three of you. Or I swear to God I'll make you."

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Listen, kiddo, for the last time." Shikamaru said. He stood over TenTen as she clicked around the screen, researching more into the Subaku family. They were back in the motel for one more night, and TenTen hadn't moved from the laptop since they'd gotten there, munching on a bag of chips. "She's just a half-demon, and a bitchy one at that. It's common. There's nothing mysterious behind her."

TenTen didn't respond. Neji watched her.

"Why are you so interested?" he asked.

This time TenTen spoke. She had to, if it was Neji. "Because I feel like there's something going on with her family." she said. "I want to know if I'm right."

"You know that we're leaving tomorrow." Neji said.

"I know."

Neji couldn't help but feel a little guilty, seeing how ambitious she was about this and telling her she couldn't help. But he knew that it was true, nothing was going on, and they could be searching for something better right now.

As the day faded to night, however, TenTen kept looking. Neji watched her eat through the entire bag of chips and grab a coke quickly before turning back to the computer screen. Shikamaru left to go get dinner for him and Neji, and TenTen kept it up.

Soon enough Neji asked, "Do you want some dinner? I can call Shikamaru and he'll pick something up for you."

"No thanks."

Neji's eyes widened. From what he knew about TenTen in the short time he'd known her so far, she did _not_ turn down food. _Ever_. It was like she was always hungry since the demon started using her energy.

'_Apparently she doesn't care when she's this concentrated._' Neji thought, amused. But he was worried. Was she doing this on purpose? How long could she keep up before she collapsed from exhaustion?

"Want another coke?"

"No thanks."

Neji got up anyways and took a coke from the carton. "Drink it." he ordered, standing in front of her and holding it out.

"Yes sir…" And she did so, taking it and sipping it. But she'd found a loophole; she kept on searching as she drank it.

Neji's mouth twitched at the corners. "Take a break."

She sighed. "Yes sir…" she said grouchily, turning around to face Neji in her chair gloomily and sipping away at the coke.

"You're not going to find anything, TenTen." Neji said.

"Okay."

"There's nothing _to_ find."

"Okay."

"Are you listening to me or just saying 'okay' to everything I say?"

"I'm listening."

He ran a hand through his hair. "TenTen, why are you still doing this?"

"I can prove you wrong." she said. He couldn't find a response to that, and TenTen turned around again.

"Break's over."

_The wind blew not up the road or down it,  
though that's bad enough, but sheer across it . . .  
For a moment it would die away, and the traveler would begin to delude himself into the belief that,  
exhausted with its previous fury, it had quietly lain itself down to rest. . .  
-- Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers_

4

**_a/n:_** Damn…So I just found out _Supernatural _(yeah, my fav show and the one this story is based on) isn't gonna have another episode till _January_. That's also the month _Barack Obama_ is officially recognized as president, and a new book from a great manga called _Dazzle_ comes out. It's gonna be a good, good month, yeah, but I don't wanna _wait_ for all three of those! Damn!

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	5. Suicide

equilibrium

5

_On a stormy sea of moving emotion  
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean  
I set a course for winds of fortune  
But I hear the voices say_

"_No…MY DAD'S IN THERE! NO!"_

"_Two of the Hyuuga's dead is not better than one, Neji…"_

"_DAD'S NOT DEAD! HE CAN'T DIE! DAD!"_

"_No way…there's just no way…!"_

"_Asuma…I…I was walking down the hall and I heard shouts and yells and crashes, I think someone was beating him. Then he stopped, and…the fire started…It was like an explosion, I dunno, man, maybe the guy threw a grenade or bomb or something, but I couldn't get in to Asuma. The entire room was just in flames…Shikamaru, I think he's…"_

"_**Shikamaru Nara, everyone around you will die."**_

"I have something!"

Shikamaru bolted straight up in bed, eyes huge, breathing heavily, his chest heaving. Cold sweat was beading on his forehead, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand as he looked around, trying to get a grip on reality. Neji was on another bed. Shikamaru remembered Neji had been reading a book before, but now he was watching him closely. TenTen, the one that had spoken and woken him, was turning away from the computer, eyes wide and looking shocked.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, panting, and opened them again, feeling strange and dizzy.

'_That was the most weird-ass dream I've ever had…_' he thought as Neji turned slowly to TenTen. '_What the hell…was that about…?_'

"What do you 'have'?" Neji asked TenTen. Shikamaru glanced at the bedside table beside him. It was one in the morning, and a lamp was lit behind the alarm clock he was reading, his unfinished dinner, now cold, sitting next to that. Shikamaru guessed he had fallen asleep without realizing it.

TenTen pointed to the screen exuberantly. "I researched more into the Subaku's past. Apparently her dad was killed in a graveyard, by the grave of his own father. When he was found dead, there was a 'book of spells' in his hand."

"So he was trying to bring his father back to life…?" Neji asked.

"Huh. That sure sounds familiar." Shikamaru muttered.

"Yes, but there's more! Just now an article popped up on the city's website!"

"What about?" Neji asked.

"Just spit it out already." Shikamaru added, impatient.

"Temari's mom just killed herself." TenTen said grimly.

Shikamaru and Neji stared at her.

"Neji, dude, cancel our sign-out."

"On it."

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"I knew something was up." TenTen said as they drove to the Subaku residence yet again.

The stars were out, the moon hovering above them, hanging like an omen in the black sky. The road wasn't empty, and the city was filled with drunks and smokers wandering the sidewalks and hitchhiking.

To Neji, TenTen _not_ saying 'I told you so' was the biggest slap in the face he'd ever received. Meanwhile, Shikamaru was busy staring out the window, seeming troubled.

"It seemed really suspicious from the beginning." TenTen continued. She sighed and closed her eyes. "I just wish I could have stopped it from happening…I feel awful…"

"It's not your fault." Neji said under his breath, but he didn't think she could hear him. Even though she wasn't the one to blame, and he knew it. It was _him_ whom was at fault, if anyone. He was the one that told her she couldn't help. He was the one that almost signed them out of the hotel and placed the town in his rearview mirror. And yet _TenTen_ decided to feel guilty _for_ him.

'_Damn it…She almost makes me hate myself…_' Neji thought bitterly as they pulled up in front of the Subaku residence.

Shikamaru didn't move. "So what, Neji?" he asked darkly. "We're just gonna go in and apologize to her, then try and figure out why her mom shot herself? That's it?"

"What more is there to do?" Neji asked quietly as they all exited the car, slamming the doors behind them. "Is there some other way?"

Shikamaru said nothing, but led the way to the porch. TenTen hurried over to Neji's side.

"You're sure you know how to deal with people after these kinds of things?" she asked him quietly.

"I stopped you from killing yourself, TenTen." he reminded her.

She blinked, then smiled. "Oh. I get it."

Shikamaru knocked as Neji and TenTen climbed the porch, and they all waited. Finally, the door opened. Temari stood there, strangely, yet not exactly uncharacteristically, poised.

She glared. "You three again? I thought you left." She didn't look it, but her voice gave it away; she was exhausted. "Would you get out of here, _please_? I've already had to deal with the police, the press. My brothers are trying to sleep."

"Listen, Temari, we're not here to hurt you-"

"I don't care what you're here for!" she said, interrupting Neji. "Listen; I'm twenty one and I can't afford college anymore, I don't have a job or a car, and now I have to try and find some way to raise my two teenage brothers on my own. I _don't have time_ to spend on two amateur demon-hunters and their little _puppy-dog_." TenTen blinked, pointing to herself and looking insulted.

"Temari, we're sorry." Neji said quickly. "We're just here because we heard about your mom, and…well…"

Temari raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip coolly. "What? You're gonna apologize? Try to console me?" She rolled her eyes. "Sorry to inform you, but I don't need it. I don't cry, and what's more _I don't care_. My mom meant nothing to me, she treated me and my brothers like shit. I don't need you to - hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

TenTen had pushed past Temari into the house, and now she looked around. "Where are your brothers?"

Temari raised an eyebrow and entered behind her. "Um, in their rooms, I already said they were sleeping. What are you-?"

"Where's the kitchen?" TenTen asked. Now Neji and Shikamaru came in curiously, closing the door behind them.

"Um, right through that door…Why-?"

"I'm gonna make you some tea, okay?"

"What? No, I don't-!"

"Okay!"

TenTen flounced through the kitchen door, her pony-tail swinging, and Temari stared after her. "Is she always so-?"

"Yes." Neji and Shikamaru said at the same time.

They all entered the kitchen as well. TenTen had set a kettle on the stove, which was already smoking a bit, and now she was scooping something into a mug. The kettle whistled, and she turned the stove off and poured the hot water into the cup. She took a silver spoon from a cabinet and started stirring the substance, then flicked the wetness off of it and turned to Temari, who was sitting at the kitchen table, an exasperated expression on her face.

"Here." TenTen said with a sweet smile, setting the steaming mug in front of the older girl, who just looked at it. "It'll help."

"I don't need it, I'm fine." Temari said, handing it back to TenTen.

TenTen frowned and held it out insistently. "Seriously, drink it."

"I don't need your stupid tea, alright? I said I'm _fine_."

TenTen, however, was not a pushover, they all learned soon enough.

"_Your mom just died_." TenTen said. Everyone was silent, their eyes widening. Her voice was raised dangerously, and her eyes were narrowed angrily. "You're _not_ fine."

TenTen set the tea in front of a shocked Temari and stormed off into the living room. Neji and Shikamaru decided it was best to follow and left Temari alone in the kitchen, closing the door.

"You okay?" Neji asked as TenTen plopped onto the sofa angrily.

"No." she muttered. "It makes me mad that she'd act like that when her mom's dead."

"Is it because you know how she feels?"

"…Yes…" TenTen said sadly, hiding her face from Neji.

Shikamaru closed his eyes as he sat on the sofa, leaning back, seeming tired.

Suddenly the kitchen door opened, and Neji and TenTen both turned to face Temari in the doorway. She had a strange look on her face. It was sad. Shikamaru didn't open his eyes, didn't stir.

"Hey…" Temari said, her voice a little hoarse. TenTen smiled welcomingly, and Temari, seeing this, cleared her throat and tried again. "I…I didn't drink the tea, I mean I don't like tea anyways, but…" She looked at the ground, fidgeting with her hands in front of her. Neji nodded, urging her to go on. "Mom…didn't get a funeral. It was written in her will, she was buried immediately. Just an hour ago actually. So…" She looked up at them, determination in her eyes.

"Could you give me a ride to her grave?"

Shikamaru opened his eyes.

muirbiliuqe

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah."

Neji stopped the car in front of a small cemetery, tree-less and with grass, dead from the sun and thinning like an aging man's balding head, sprouting pathetically among the cracked headstones.

They let themselves in and, Temari in the lead, picked their way through the dead, trying to find her mother. Shikamaru watched her from behind curiously the whole way. The night was a bit colder, and Temari, only in that black tank, began to shiver, wrapping her arms around herself. But she didn't complain, and she kept going.

She finally stopped in front of a headstone, and the other three stopped right behind her. Shikamaru looked over her shoulder at the name carved into the smooth grey rock right above a date:

_Latisha Subaku_

Temari said nothing and did nothing for a while, and TenTen hesitantly spoke up. "It's okay to cry, you know…"

"Shut up, twerp, I don't cry." Temari snapped.

None of them said anything. TenTen just crossed her arms and watched as Temari just stood there and stared at the stone. It was like they were waiting for something. Cars screeched. A subway rumbled somewhere around a corner. People laughed at a bar down the street. A dog roared, crashing into a fence which jangled, clanging loudly at the pressure. And somewhere in the distance came the shrieking wails of a baby.

And finally, Temari bent over and sobbed.

TenTen lost the frown for a pained look, and she turned away. "We should go." she barely whispered to Neji and Shikamaru as Temari's weeping echoed in the graveyard off the hollow trees and bushes and other graves of the dead, where someone else in the past had cried twice and badly, where flowers lay, dying and curling from the desert heat, among the dry grass and pale, chipped dirt.

Neji nodded, but Shikamaru stayed as the other two walked away.

He watched the young woman, hands covering her face, as she bent over, shaking with grief, bare arms and shoulders covered in goose-bumps. He removed his jacket and slowly walked over to her, then placed it lightly over her back. "We'll be waiting by the car." he said simply. He turned to walk away, but she spoke.

"Sh-She called me before she shot herself." Temari managed to say between her tears. Shikamaru halted. "Told me she was sorry for everything. Said not to worry, cause she wanted to do this. She…She wanted to be with dad…she _wanted_ this."

Shikamaru scratched his head. "Then maybe you should move on, woman." he said quietly.

And with that he left her to stand in a thoughtful silence that was only broken by her shuddering breaths.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"_**Shikamaru, it's your fault I'm dead."**_

"_Asuma…?!"_

"_**I was like a father to you! I cared for you since you were a young boy when your own father and best friend weren't there for you! I was your FAMILY! How could you let this happen to me?! ARE YOU GLAD I'M IN HELL?!"**_

"Hey, lazy-ass."

Shikamaru's eyes snapped open when something soft hit his face. He was leaning against the side of the car, and apparently he'd fallen asleep again. The smell of leather filled his nostrils, and he pulled whatever was on his face away. His tan leather jacket. He looked down and saw only his black shirt on. Then he looked up and saw Temari, her hands on her hips.

"That's one weird way of saying thanks, throwing things at people." Shikamaru muttered, yawning, and meanwhile trying to shake the dream from his system.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Temari said distractedly. "Where're the other two?"

Shikamaru got to his feet, holding his jacket and stretching. "Dunno, maybe Neji's takin the dog on a walk."

Temari laughed, and he felt satisfied. Something about her smile…

"Ah _man_! He's awake, Neji."

"Damn…"

Shikamaru and Temari turned to see Neji and TenTen coming. Neji quickly slipped a small container of Sharpies behind his back, not quite discreetly.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Should I ask…?"

Neji and TenTen glanced at each other, then each coughed nervously. "Uh…no." Neji said as TenTen nodded earnestly.

Temari smirked. "I would've paid a lot to see you guys draw on this guy's face." she said.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Neji's tried, hasn't succeeded yet."

"Only cause you always seem to wake up at the right damn time…" Neji muttered as TenTen sighed, disappointed, and threw the container of Sharpies into the trunk.

TenTen then turned to Temari. "So…how are your brothers holding up…?" she asked quietly.

Temari smiled a bit. "They're…doing well." she said. "Kankerou cried a bit, Gaara just kinda got all emo and didn't wanna say anything…" She sighed. "I think…I'm gonna have to just move out."

"What? Why?" TenTen asked, eyes widening. "You're gonna leave your brothers?"

"I have to, forthem." Temari said. "We're not allowed government funding because I'm twenty one and I'm their legal guardian now. But if I move out…they can be provided food and money from the government."

"But what about you…?" Shikamaru asked. "What are you gonna do…?"

She put a hand to the back of her neck wearily. "I dunno…But if it'll help my brothers…" She looked at Shikamaru.

"I'll do anything."

Shikamaru blinked and scratched the bridge of his nose, thinking.

Neji turned to Temari. "Alright, then. Now that that's covered, it time for the next order of business."

"Huh?"

"We gotta figure out why your mom killed herself, don't we?" Neji asked.

"…What…?" Temari asked.

"Neji…" Shikamaru started.

"It could have been something related to demons." TenTen said. "I mean, it does run in your family after all."

Temari stared at them. "You're kidding me." she said. "You guys think a _demon_ did this?"

Neji and TenTen blinked. "Um…"

"Neji." Shikamaru said, putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him away. "Not every death is paranormal, man." he said quietly under his breath. He glanced over his shoulder as TenTen watched them curiously and Temari crossed her arms and stared off into the distance.

Neji closed and opened his eyes in an effort to concentrate. "You think she just…_snapped_ and killed herself…?"

"Maybe." Shikamaru said. "And maybe it _was_ something weird. But whatever it is, I think we've done enough, haven't we?"

Neji watched Temari. "I dunno, man, maybe we should-"

"Neji, please." Shikamaru said, and Neji's eyes met Shikamaru's earnest ones. "Give her a break, dude." Shikamaru said quietly.

Neji stared at his friend for a bit, then he sighed.

"Alright."

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Yo TenTen, can you hand me-?"

"Shut up, stupid, she's sleeping!" TenTen hissed.

Neji snickered as Shikamaru glared at the girl in the backseat. "Since when is she sleeping, kiddo?"

TenTen, already used to him calling her that, pointed next to her to the sleeping blonde, head against the window's glass. Shikamaru turned his gaze to Temari.

She seemed, suddenly, so much less intimidating. Shikamaru watched her breathing deeply, her chest rising and falling rhythmically, her pink lips parted just slightly.

"Humph." Shikamaru turned again. Neji covered his laughter with a hand. Shikamaru groaned. He wished they'd all shut up so he could get to sleep as well. He could see the sky through the windshield, brightening near the horizon.

'_Crap, it's morning._' Shikamaru thought grouchily. No sleep for him…

After a while, TenTen bit her lip. "Are we gonna…um…?"

"Are we gonna what?" Neji asked.

"Are we gonna…er…take her along too…?"

Neji sighed. "TenTen, you know we can't pick up everyone we come across. Even if you feel attached to them somehow."

TenTen nodded sadly. "Yes sir…" she said gloomily.

"After this." Shikamaru said suddenly.

"What?" Neji asked. TenTen brightened up immediately.

"We can't pick up everyone we come across _after this_." Shikamaru said. "We'll bring her along with us. After that, no one else is allowed to tag along."

"You're kidding." Neji said, eyes big.

"We have four seats in the car. And a half-demon could be useful." Shikamaru said, shrugging. "Besides, don't you think the puppy back there should have a friend to play with?" He stuck a thumb over his shoulder in TenTen's direction.

"Hey, you talkin about me?"

"You bet, kiddo."

Neji was silent, thoughtful, as TenTen and Shikamaru argued as loudly as they could without waking Temari. Finally, he gave in.

"Alright, _fine_. But this is the _last _person we bring along."

"Hey, no one asked you to bring TenTen with us."

"Finally you say my name."

"Yes I did, kiddo."

"Damn it!"

"You're not gonna ask me about this?"

Everyone stopped talking as Temari sat up.

"Uh…you were awake…?" TenTen asked sheepishly.

"Who could sleep with all that going on?" Temari muttered.

The other three all fidgeted guiltily.

Temari stretched. "I didn't hear ya'll ask me if _I'm_ okay with it."

"You're not?" TenTen asked, seeming hurt. She blinked up at the older woman. "You mean you don't wanna come with us…?"

Temari stared at her, then she laughed. "Just cause I can't resist your puppy dog eyes, fine, I'll come along on your little 'road trip.' I've always wondered what it would be like anyway, hunting demons and whatnot."

Shikamaru smirked a bit, and TenTen beamed. "Really?!"

"Yeah, well, I never said I _wouldn't_ come. And there's nothing else for me to do if I want to help my brothers out." She blinked. "Speaking of them, can I go home and get some things…and also say bye to my brothers? I…well, I-"

"We understand." Shikamaru said.

Temari smiled. "Okay. Oh, and guys…"

They waited.

"I…I don't say this…like _ever_, I mean, you can ask anyone in Phoenix, but…" She sighed, as if this was getting painful.

"_Thanks_."

Shikamaru smiled a bit, though no one could see it.

"Was that so hard?" TenTen asked. Temari glared at her as Neji laughed, and Shikamaru turned to look out the window sleepily.

This was going to be a long 'road trip', if that's what she called it.

_Can they feel, I wonder, those white silent people we call the dead?_  
_-- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde_

5

_**a/n:**_ Ugh...occasionally life sucks. So, I got a surgery two days ago where I had three of my wisdom teeth taken out. I didn't get put to sleep, I didn't even get any laughing gas. All they did was numb me, and it didn't work that well, so while they were, excuse the gore, digging around in my mouth with metal knives and ripping out my teeth with these bone-crushing pliers, I was wide awake and had all my sense around me. And now I'm home, and I feel gross, and I keep throwing up. Double-ugh. :P

On a lighter note, I love Temari in this too, dude! LOL, and trust me, through the magic of the band _Creedence Clearwater Revival_ (CCR! :O), the old classic rock music of which Temari and Shikamaru hold a common love of, teh ShikaTema is going to be _epic_. ;)

_thanks for reading!  
_

_xmarachanx_


	6. Training

equilibrium

6

_Carry on, you will always remember  
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor  
The center lights around your vanity  
But surely heaven waits for you_

"_**You deserve to die too, Shikamaru. You knew, didn't you? You knew that everyone around you was going to be killed eventually. Why did yo**__**u dare risk being so close to Asuma if you knew what was going to happen?"**_

"_Asuma…I thought…I thought he__ wouldn't-"_

"_**You thought he wouldn't be killed? You're wrong, Shikamaru.**__**"**_

"_I know I'm wrong."_

"_**Then why do you stay around Neji?"**_

"…_What…?"_

"_**You care about him. You want to be his brother, so badly, because the two of you mean so much to each other. But you deny the fact and try to tell him you're only friends because-"**_

"_Because he's trying to be more of a son to my father than me. That's all there is to it."_

"_**That's why you used Asuma**__**, because you wanted a real father and didn't want to hurt Neji. Even though it was hard for you."**_

"_That's why."_

"_**But you don't know the other reason you try to push Neji away, Shikamaru."**_

"_T__here is no other reason."_

"_**You don't want **__**him to get close to you because-"**_

"_Shut up!"_

" _**Because **__**if you embrace the fact that he's family, you're afraid he'll-"**_

"Shikamaru, wake up, man."

Shikamaru's eyes opened quickly, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. He sat up quickly and ran a hand through his sloppy black hair. He looked to the side and saw Neji standing there, watching him suspiciously. He glanced at the alarm clock next to him.

"…One in the morning…?" Shikamaru said slowly. He groaned and faced Neji. "What the hell, man?!"

"Quiet, you'll wake them." Neji said softly, shoving a thumb over his shoulder at the other two beds. They were all in a hotel room, and Temari and TenTen were each on a single bed across the room from Neji and Shikamaru's beds. Shikamaru watched them, then turned to Neji, who was sitting on his bed now.

"What is it?" he asked, getting annoyed.

"We need to talk." Neji said calmly.

Shikamaru sat up, rubbing his forehead. "About what?"

"You've been having nightmares, haven't you?" Neji asked, staring straight at him.

Shikamaru's eyes widened, and he looked away. "Shut up, no I haven't."

"Seriously, Shikamaru, I can tell. You keep saying Asuma's name in your sleep, you're sweating and sometimes you even cry for a bit."

Shikamaru swallowed hard. He didn't know he was going that. But that explained the excess fluids staining his face occasionally. They were tears…

"They're not normal nightmares either, are they?" Neji asked.

"Wh…What are you talking about?"

"Can you see into the future?"

"_What_?!"

TenTen on the other side of the room yawned and stirred a bit in her sleep. Neji and Shikamaru watched her apprehensively, but she didn't wake, and Temari didn't even twitch. Neji sighed and glared at Shikamaru.

"Quiet!"

Shikamaru massaged his forehead. "You're crazy, Neji. I can't see into the future, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Neji looked confused. "But…Shikato could…"

Shikamaru glanced at Neji. "What…?"

"Shikato said he'd have nightmares, sometimes not even nightmares, not even when he was sleeping, but _visions_…of the future. Different cases with demons and…things like that…"

Shikamaru stared at Neji. "You're…serious…?" Neji nodded. Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. "Damn it…And he _told_ you this…?"

"Well…yeah…" Neji said slowly, uncertainly.

"And he never told me." Shikamaru said slowly, not looking at Neji. Anger swept through him, but he held back from pummeling the man to his left like he wanted to so badly. "Neji, listen to me." Shikamaru said slowly, dangerously. Neji said nothing. "I'm not having fucking _visions_ like _my dad_ told _you_ he had. I'm just having nightmares about Asuma, its normal."

"Do you…miss him…?" Neji asked quietly.

Shikamaru said nothing. "I'm going back to sleep, man. I'm tired."

"Wait, that's not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about." Neji said quickly before Shikamaru could lay back down.

Shikamaru, calming himself, glanced at Neji. "What else?"

Neji smirked suddenly. "I think it's about time we start to train those two." he said, pointing to Temari and TenTen. "You know what I'm talking about?"

Shikamaru watched the two young women across the room, then glanced at Neji and sniggered. "Ah. Just like what we were put through, eh?"

"Exactly." Neji said, smirk still on his face.

Shikamaru sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, then." he said, sitting. "Guess there's no use in going back to sleep, is there?"

Neji laughed. "Nope." He crossed his arms as Shikamaru stood and yawned, stretching. He looked over at TenTen and Temari's sleeping forms. "You two are in for a whole lot of hell…" he said, shaking his head, but also looking quite forward to what was to come.

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

TenTen woke. She didn't know what to, but she woke, and she didn't open her eyes, too tired to do anything really. It had been a couple days since Temari had joined them, and now they were in Wyoming. As November progressed she knew it was soon enough that it would be getting even colder. She'd need to go shopping sooner or later for warmer clothing, all she had was fall clothes. She knew Temari was probably in the same position, especially since all she had were clothes used to the heat of Arizona.

'_Hmm…I wonder if she'd like to go shopping with me…_' she thought with a small smile. '_It'll probably be fun. Great chance for us to-_'

"Rise and shine, kiddo."

"Oww!" TenTen yelled when she felt a harsh blow to her stomach. She groaned and clutched her waist, opening her eyes to see Shikamaru, holding up a fist. He knocked her gently on the forehead and moved on.

She sat up, wincing, and turned to the right to see the alarm clock.

"_Three in the morning_?!" she cried.

Temari woke up and groaned. "What the hell is everyone yelling about?" she mumbled, sitting straight up. TenTen had to wonder how she was still so pretty even after sleeping. TenTen knew her hair was probably messy and her face was probably pale. _Temari_, on the other hand, looked like she'd just gotten back from clubbing. As usual…

TenTen pouted. She'd never get to be so pretty, she thought. She turned to Neji, who was lifting up two bags. He caught her eye and turned to her and Temari. "Get up." he said.

"Y-Yes sir." TenTen said quickly, standing. "But why…so early…?"

"It's time for training." Neji said simply as Shikamaru held two bags as well.

"Training?" Temari asked, getting up as well. "For what…?"

"You're both strong." Shikamaru said. "But not strong enough. If you're going to be coming along with us, you're gonna be fighting things that you can't even imagine. Things that you never knew about. Things you thought were impossible to survive. You're gonna need to be ready."

"But-"

"Listen, you'll see what we're talking about soon." Neji said. "Just take a shower and get dressed, then meet us down by the car. We'll be going to a forest where no one can bother us. Oh, and don't eat breakfast."

"…Why…?" they both asked, confused.

Shikamaru smirked.

"You might throw up."

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"This one's perfect." Shikamaru said.

Neji stopped the car on the side of a dirt road by a large forest after they'd driven along the edge of it for a while to try and find a clearing inside of it. Now, between the trees, they could spot quite a huge one, and so they all exited the car.

TenTen was looking quite gloomy. Without food in her, the demon was slowly eating away at her energy.

Neji and Shikamaru easily climbed over the gate, and Temari and TenTen followed. It didn't take much effort for them, fortunately, the men noticed, and so they hiked through the woods to the clearing. With that, Shikamaru and Neji dropped the two bags they were carrying.

Shikamaru winced and rubbed his shoulder, and Neji massaged his back.

Temari smirked. "Wow, and you're saying _we're_ not strong enough?" she scoffed. "You guys don't know what you're talking about."

TenTen nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure we're ready enough." she said. "I don't think we need this."

Neji and Shikamaru exchanged a look, then turned to them. "Alright, then." Neji said. "If you're _ready_ enough, then take one bag each."

Temari and TenTen each raised an eyebrow and did so, walking forward and grabbing one each. But they couldn't even lift it.

Temari's eyes widened as TenTen made a frustrated noise and tried with both hands. "What the hell…is in this…?!" She and TenTen each unzipped the bags and gaped. Inside were many weights. Temari pushed one over as best as she could and cried, "One hundred pounds?!"

Neji and Shikamaru each grabbed a bag easily and hoisted it over their shoulders. "We're going for a hike." Shikamaru said as they each turned around. "Come on."

Temari and TenTen shared a stunned look.

"How…did they…?" TenTen squeaked.

"This is…gonna be a long day…" Temari whispered nervously.

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"Okay, this is enough!" Temari panted.

It was noon. Temari and TenTen were drenched with sweat, and breathing so heavily it was like their hearts would burst. Neji and Shikamaru were fine, however. They had forced Temari and TenTen through the most grueling challenges they'd ever faced; climbing up a tree with barely any branches, crawling through a hollow log filled with mud, and even being told to _eat_ _mud_, which caused TenTen to throw up soon after behind a bush. And there was more, as well. Pushups, sit-ups, and lifting those retched weights from the bags. And Shikamaru and Neji would not give them any water or anything to eat no matter how they begged, and they wouldn't let them stop either.

Now, they were trying to do chin-ups on a sturdy tree branch, and both of them dropped to their feet, catching their breaths.

"Yeah, this is impossible!" TenTen cried, agreeing wholeheartedly. "I haven't had anything to eat the whole day, and my demon's driving me crazy!"

"And _I've _never had to do this kind of stuff _ever_!" Temari cried. "Not even in gym class, and dude, I got _out_ of that class!"

Neji and Shikamaru, sitting on an overturned log, just watched them, each sipping a coke that looked extremely satisfying to Temari at the moment.

"You're gonna kill us if you make us do any more!" TenTen said, massaging her shoulders. "Can't you at least give us a break?"

"Or maybe if _you_ guys are so tough, why don't you prove how this'll help us!" Temari snapped. "If you say this'll help us fight, then _you_ guys show us how to fight instead of stalling!"

Shikamaru and Neji both set down their cokes, smirking. "Our pleasure." Neji said, standing. Shikamaru stood as well, and they faced each other. Temari and TenTen blinked and stared, confused as to what they were doing.

And suddenly, Shikamaru threw a punch Neji's way. Neji dodged it easily, and then three more. And then it was Neji's turn. He grabbed Shikamaru's shoulders and flipped over him, twisted around, and thrust his knee into the man's stomach, who coughed. But Shikamaru had Neji where he wanted him, and he slammed a fist into his jaw. Neji winced and let go, and then Shikamaru ran at Neji again, but Neji slid under his legs easily and tried to kick him from behind. But Shikamaru flipped over his legs, landing on his feet perfectly. The two ran at each other one more time, then pushed each other backwards.

They landed again, feet skidding in the dirt, panting. Then they turned to Temari and TenTen. Their mouths were wide open, their eyes huge, completely astonished. They had no idea these two careless, lazy men were so…

'_Cool…!_' Temari thought, watching Shikamaru.

"Need another demonstration?" Shikamaru asked as Neji rolled up his sleeves.

Temari and TenTen glanced at each other. "Damn…" they each whispered at the same time.

muirbiliuqe

Temari and TenTen were back to the chin-ups. Shikamaru lay down beneath them so they couldn't fall this time. Neji lounged against the branch next to TenTen, telling her to keep going, which she had to do since it was an order from him. The day was fading, and their stomachs were growling. TenTen was very pale now, and her arms and hands were shaking with stress. Neji thought that it looked like any second the poor girl was going to collapse and die, but he knew she could go a whole day without food, even with the demon feeding off of her, so she just had to learn to work around her limits. These were the kinds of things they'd have to deal with when they were up against demons, and Neji knew they had to go through it first.

"I-I can't do it anymore…" TenTen panted, eyes squeezed tight as she tried to keep her chin above the branch. Finally she let her arms go and just hung there, eyes shut and chewing her bottom lip. Temari let herself drop seconds later, hanging next to TenTen, sweat beading on her forehead. She blew a strand of hair from her eyes grouchily.

"This is crazy." she muttered.

Neji watched as TenTen tried her best, but she obviously just couldn't do it. She'd reached her limit. He heaved a sigh and wrapped his arms around her. She blinked, startled, but he lifted her off the branch and onto the ground gently.

"You're just not cut out for this, TenTen." he said simply.

Shikamaru sighed and rolled out of the way, then promptly shoved Temari off the branch gently. "I guess woman just can't do this kinda stuff, Neji." he said thoughtfully, rubbing his muscular arms.

Neji nodded, feeling a bit disappointed. '_I thought that if Shikamaru and I could do it two years ago when Shikato forced us through this same thing, they could as least do it too. But it seems Shikamaru's right…_' Neji thought as Shikamaru shook his head, each of them walking towards their cokes by the log.

"I guess woman are just weaker…" Neji guessed, lifting his coke up. Shikamaru nodded his head wisely, and they each took a sip of their coke.

But there was suddenly two sharp intakes of breath, and Temari and TenTen each yelled at the same time, "_No way_!"

Neji and Shikamaru paused. Hope fluttered through Neji's chest, and he turned slowly with Shikamaru.

Temari and TenTen faced each other, as if they were having a conversation with their eyes, then they each smirked.

Temari ran at TenTen and threw a couple punches her way, which she dodged easily. Then TenTen grabbed the Temari's shoulders and flipped herself over her, but Temari dodged her knee and tried to punch her, which TenTen dodged as well. TenTen slid under Temari's legs, but she flipped away, and then the two, feet skidding in the dirt to a halt, each raised a hand.

"Ready?" TenTen asked, and the two shared a knowing smile.

"When you are." Temari said, grinning.

TenTen laughed. "You asked for it!"

"Heh."

And with that, something strange happened.

First, TenTen's demon rippled out of no where. Neji's eyes grew huge. She wasn't supposed to be able to summon it without salt, iron, or holy water pressed to her curse mark until years of training! But there it was, and it opened its wings, screeching so loudly that Neji's ears were starting to burn. And next, a wind so powerful Neji and Shikamaru almost fell over swept through the clearing, so powerful that the trees around them almost fell to the ground, bending over and creaking with the strain, their branches brushing the ground, the leaves being swept clean off and swirling around Temari and TenTen like a tornado. The wind clashed with the black smoky demon, and scratches appeared on Temari and TenTen's faces from the collision. Soon it all disappeared statically, leaving Neji and Shikamaru to stare at the women, their hands still straight in the air. They both turned to look expectantly at them, each wiping blood from their faces. Their eyes shining with the exhilaration from shared victory, from adrenaline of the risky battle of pure air, spirit, and force.

Shikamaru and Neji glanced at each other, stunned, eye brows high on their foreheads.

Shikamaru laughed shakily, and Neji put a hand to his forehead, a bit bewildered.

"I think we're done here."

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"You're such an immature _brat_, TenTen, my God!"

"_I'm_ the brat?! _I'm_ immature?! You shouldn't even be _talking_ about immature, _Subaku_! You're the one that keeps going on about boy bands! Well you know what, if you're so obsessed with em, just to let you know, they're closer to _my_ age, you old cow!"

"Old cow?! You freaking little…First it's not boy bands, its freakin' classic rock! Second, I'm _twenty one_, I'm one year older than your precious little _Neji_! Are you saying _Neji's_ old? Cause I don't think he'd _like_ that, since you're his little _maid_!"

"_Maid_?! You're calling me a _maid_?! Well I'm not doing anything for _you_, I hope you know!"

"Please, I wouldn't _want_ you to, you'd probably break my bones, you klutz!"

"So I tripped and broke one of your CD's, _big deal_! You can always buy another one! It doesn't mean I'm a klutz, accidents happen!"

"Pfft, stop pretending like you don't know! _Shikamaru_ told me _everything_, you were born on _Friday the thirteenth_, and _every_ person who knows even a _little_ bit about demons knows that if you're born on Friday the thirteenth you're _personally_ bad luck! So it's obviously _your fault_ that my CD broke!"

"It's not my fault, okay?! It's a fucking curse! You think I asked for it?!"

"Someone _better_ might have actually fought the curse off by now, or at least learned how to control it!"

"I already _know_ how to control my demon!"

"Yeah, that's your _demon_, not the curse itself!"

"Oh fuck you!"

"At least someone has, Miss Virgin. Tell me, does _God_ think well of you, pretty little church girl?"

"I'm never _been_ to a fucking church!"

"Good, at least I have _something_ in common with you!"

"What…is this about…?" Neji asked as he and Shikamaru listened through the hotel door to TenTen and Temari arguing loudly.

"I'm surprised no one's called the cops yet." Shikamaru muttered. Neji was holding a bag of groceries, and Shikamaru had a carton of beers he'd insisted they needed. Neji had agreed after a while, and now he was glad he had, listening to the squabbling coming from inside.

"Think it's the training from yesterday making them mad?" he asked. "Or maybe that fight against each other gave them a bit of a rivalry?"

"Nah. They were fine this morning before we left." Shikamaru said. "And TenTen practically stuffed herself with food when we got home, so she should be fine with her demon and all."

"Maybe they just…"

"_Cunt-face!"_

"_Old bitch!"_

"…don't like each other…?" Neji guessed weakly, having been interrupted by the two young woman inside the hotel room who were still at it.

"Could be." Shikamaru said, shrugging. He sighed. "Either way, I have an idea."

He suddenly set down the beers and opened the door. He reached into his pocket and got out a piece of straw.

"Where the hell…?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember that barn we passed?" Shikamaru asked as he stuck the straw in the lock. "Some wind blew the straw in, and it got caught on my jacket. I just stuck it in my pocket, I was too tired to deal with it."

"Wow. Too lazy to throw a piece of straw out of an open window right next to you." Neji muttered, sitting down and setting the bag next to him. "You really are the same Shikamaru."

"Shut up." Shikamaru said. He sighed and stepped back. "Alright, the straw's in there pretty good. It'll be hard for them to open the door now.

"What…are you trying to do…?" Neji asked as Shikamaru sat down next to the beers.

"Ah, you'll see." Shikamaru said, cracking open the carton.

"That's it, I'm going shopping without you Temari!"

"Go, then, I don't wanna be seen shopping with a little _brat_!"

"Wh…What the hell…?! What's wrong with the door?"

"Let me see. You're probably too _weak_."

"Shut up!"

"…The fuck…? The door's stuck!"

"Damn it! Now we have to wait for Neji and Shikamaru to get back, I guess."

"Grah! I can't believe this!"

"We're gonna be able to hear every word they're saying." Neji muttered.

Shikamaru held out a beer bottle, sipping his own.

"Want one?"

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Here." TenTen muttered, reluctantly passing a small cup of tea to Temari then sitting on the bed next to her. "It's gonna be a long wait, and we might as well make the most of it."

"Yeah, but why the tea?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow. But she took it and held it between her hands like TenTen.

"I made some for myself, to give myself some energy, and I made a little too much. I didn't wanna waste it, so…"

"Yeah, I've always been an environmentalist myself." Temari said, sighing.

TenTen groaned, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling. "Damn it, this sucks. I can't believe the situation I'm in. I'm stuck in a room, I'm hungry, Neji and Shikamaru aren't here, and to top it off I'm with _you_."

"You're not the only one that feels pissed off right now, trust me." Temari said grouchily. She looked down at the tea, watching it smoking. It felt nice and warm between her palms.

"So…" TenTen said suddenly. Temari looked sideways at her. She looked thoughtful. "…Hey Temari." she said finally, facing her.

"What?"

"Do you…miss your mom?" TenTen asked, brown eyes staring straight at hers curiously.

Temari turned away quickly. "…Can I ask you something before I answer that?" she asked quietly.

"…Um, sure…"

"What about _your_ parents?"

TenTen smiled. "Well…My dad and mom both died not too long ago."

"Oh…sorry…"

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. I'm over it. I never met my dad, so it wasn't that bad when he died."

"What about your mom?"

TenTen sipped her tea. "…I loved her…" she said finally, quietly. "And I was devastated when she died, especially since it was my demon that killed her. At first it felt like it was my fault, and I wanted to die so badly I would do anything to make sure I was in Hell. But…"

"…But what…?" Temari asked rudely when TenTen wouldn't continue.

TenTen shook her head as if to clear her mind. "…Neji." she said simply.

Temari cocked her head to the side. "What about him?"

"He…told me to stop it, and…It was that same feeling over again."

"What feeling?"

"The feeling that I actually belonged here. On earth, I mean. Living. Alive…" She smiled, kicking one leg up and over the other, crossing them at the knees. "I always used to feel like a burden, since my mom had to work so hard to keep the two of us alive. So I did everything she said. When mom died, I felt even more like a burden, like I was of no use. But Neji-"

"-Proved you wrong." Temari finished for her. "And that's why you do everything he says, to feel like you're worth something?" TenTen smiled and nodded. Temari sighed and faced forwards as well. "Yeah, I know how ya feel."

"…Like with our parents…?"

"Yeah, and the feeling of…not belonging here…" Temari closed her eyes. "Back in Phoenix…well, everyone liked me, everyone treated me great. But I didn't have any friends except for my brothers." TenTen's eyes widened. "I know, it's hard to believe, but…it's true. It was like everyone was afraid of me or something. And somewhere inside I felt like it had something to do with the fact that I was just as good as a demon…"

"But that's not it." TenTen said.

"I know, I know, that's not why. I was just…too much personality. I couldn't be close to many people." Temari said, shaking her head. "I'm not like you, one of those sweet, popular girls that everyone likes."

TenTen shrugged. "Not really." Temari glanced at her. "When the curse started taking affect, everyone started to leave me, avoiding me, treating me like an outcast. No one wanted to be seen with me." She sighed. "It was for a short time, but I know how it feels."

Temari watched TenTen, then turned back to the tea. She smelled it. It smelled like mint and green leaves. "Yes."

"What?"

"I answered your question." she said, staring at the dark liquid swirling between her palms. "I do miss my mom. But I feel a little better inside, knowing we settled things." She smiled. "When she called me and told me she loved me, I didn't know what was going on, but she hung up before I could say anything else. Next thing I know, she's shot herself in the head." Temari sighed. "Maybe her life was just too much of a hassle. I don't blame her for feeling that way. But sometimes I wish like…she could have stayed with me…"

Temari raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. A sweet, cinnamon taste with a mixture of mint and herbs mixed in rinsed through her mouth and trickled, warm and refreshing, down her throat. Temari licked her dry lips and blinked.

"Hey…this is really good…!" she said in surprise.

TenTen beamed. "Thanks! It's my mom's recipe, she taught me how to make it when I was eight years old."

"It tastes good, but it tastes…different." Temari put a finger to her chin. "What kind of tea is it?"

"Green Tea with Honey and Ginseng."

"Ginseng…?"

"It's an old Chinese remedy, commonly used in teas." TenTen said. When Temari just looked at her, she pointed to herself and said, "I'm Chinese."

"Oh! Well, that explains your name." Temari said, laughing. Then she frowned. "But you don't _look_ Chinese."

"Yeah, well, that's cause my dad was American." TenTen said. "But he left my mom before I was born, so I'm pretty used to the Chinese culture, getting it from my mom."

"Oh, I see." Temari smiled.

TenTen smiled back. "Hey, you know, you're not so bad, Temari."

Temari grinned. "Neither are you." she said honestly. The two watched each other, then laughed. "Alright, here's a deal. Keep making me this tea, and I'll be a good friend from now on. No more meaningless insults." Temari said.

"Promise." TenTen said, smirking.

"Well, this looks safe."

They all turned to see Shikamaru, carrying a beer carton, entering the room, Neji behind him with a grocery bag under one arm, each holding a beer.

Temari and TenTen each narrowed their eyes. "And _where_ were you two for _that long_?" Temari demanded.

"Yeah, the door was stuck!" TenTen complained, pouting.

"Eh, we were shopping of course." Neji said. "We just got caught up, you know, a lot of groceries."

"Sure…" Temari muttered, sharing a look with TenTen.

"Well, either way, it's about time we start lookin' for something to hunt. I'm bored in this crappy place." Shikamaru said.

"Hey, while you're doing that, can we go shopping?" TenTen asked.

"We just went shopping, we got you candy too." Neji said, holding up two bags filled with what looked like very acne-inducing sugar. "You're gonna need it."

TenTen beamed when she saw the sweets.

"Not that kind of shopping, we're going clothes shopping." Temari said simply.

Shikamaru and Neji just stared at them. "You're kidding." Shikamaru said finally.

"What's the big deal?" TenTen asked.

"You're going clothes shopping? _Why_?" Neji asked.

Temari sighed. "Listen. You guys obviously don't understand. See, I used to live in a desert. This is a place where snow and rain is _nonexistent_, let alone temperatures beneath fifty degrees_._ So I only have one shirt that actually covers my shoulders, and it's incredibly thin. I need to go shopping."

"Also she can't go alone, and I want to go too. We can probably use our credit cards to buy a couple items each." TenTen said, smiling as Temari nodded.

Neji blew a strand of hair from his forehead thoughtfully. "…Alright…just hurry up, please."

"Yes sir!"

"Sure. You ready, TenTen?"

"Uh-huh! We'll drive your car, Neji, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Be careful with it!" Shikamaru called after them, slightly protective over his friend's nice automobile. Obviously still quite obsessed with cars.

The girls said nothing as they left, and Shikamaru and Neji shared a look.

"You know they're not going to be careful with it." Neji said.

"And _you_ know they're not going to hurry up."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Las Vegas? You're serious?" Temari asked.

They all sat in the hotel room again. Temari and TenTen had taken the rest of the day up shopping together, and they came back at nine at night to be greeted by Neji and Shikamaru telling them of what they'd found online.

"Yep." Shikamaru said as TenTen ripped open her bag of candy eagerly, sitting on her bed. Shikamaru sat in front of the laptop, Neji on his own bed, and Temari in a chair. "Sin City. Perfect place for _you_, troublesome woman."

Temari threw a pillow at him.

"What's the problem there?" TenTen asked, chewing on a Starburst.

"People keep talking about a haunting down in the basement of a hotel casino." Neji said as Shikamaru swiped the pillow away, glowering. "They're really scared, they're thinking about closing the place."

"Which place?" Temari asked, annoyed by the lack of straightforwardness.

"It's the Rio Hotel, it has quite a large casino." Neji said. "Think you two are up to it?"

"For sure." TenTen said, grinning.

"Good, cause we haven't had much action lately, and this looks like a bloody job." Shikamaru said, yawning. "So I guess we're heading out?"

"What? In the middle of the night?" Temari asked, surprised. She turned around on the mahogany chair in the side of the crimson room, her face outlined by the glow of the city streets behind her from the dark window. "We have to leave now? Aren't you gonna, like, fall asleep driving?"

Neji smirked and he picked up a beer bottle from the coffee table, swishing the liquid inside it around a bit. "You think I didn't wonder about that?"

"That stuff keeps this guy awake for two days on end, almost literally." Shikamaru muttered, punching Neji in the shoulder.

"…Ah." Temari sighed. "Let's just hope you don't get drunk and crash us into someone else. Either way, let's get going."

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

Shikamaru watched with arms crossed as Temari finished packing. Neji and TenTen were taking their suitcases down to the car together, and Neji had ordered Shikamaru to wait for Temari. He'd obeyed grouchily, only because he'd wanted to ask her a few things.

However, those questions were swept clean from his mind when he spotted something being picked up in her long hands. "Hey, you like Boston?" he asked, pointing to a CD case Temari was packing in the front pocket of her suitcase.

She looked up. "Well duh. Boston's only the best." she said simply.

He scoffed. "It's good but not the best. There's better."

"Oh yeah? Are you gonna be cliché and say Jet?" she tested. "You know, 'Are you gonna be my girl', that old stuff? It's awesome, but _everyone_ says that's the best."

"Nah, Jet's fine, but I'd say that Kansas is better."

"True, everyone knows Kansas." Temari said, grinning.

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully. "It's like John Lennon before he became a catchphrase."

Temari laughed loudly, standing. "I'd say Michael Jackson's more of a catchphrase than John Lennon."

Shikamaru tilted his head to the side as Temari grabbed her suitcase. "What would you say is the biggest celebrity catchphrase at the moment?"

"At the moment?" Temari smirked. "George Bush."

Shikamaru snorted. "So true."

She smiled. "So you like classic rock too, huh?"

"Of course I do. How can you not?" Shikamaru asked.

She shrugged. "Dunno. There's some of those little pre-teen idiots that are obsessed with what's-her-name, that famous chick from Disney?"

"You mean…hell, I can't believe I'm saying this…Hannah Montana?"

Temari shuddered. "God I hate her."

"Same here." Shikamaru muttered darkly. "Some day I just want some demon to-"

"Is that how you threaten people? With demons?"

"You'd be surprised." Shikamaru said, and the two laughed.

Temari sighed. "Well, nice to meet you, then. I think first impressions suck anyway." she said, holding out a hand.

He looked down at it.

'_She's not exactly polite._'

He shook her hand.

'_But then again, that's something I've always liked._'

"Might as well catch up with them before Hyuuga leaves without us."

"Uh huh."

The two left the hotel room and crossed the block to Neji and TenTen, talking against the car. Shikamaru noticed a small fond smile on Neji's face, and the way he laughed when TenTen made the slightest mistake. His eyes followed her every move, almost curiously, almost amused.

Then he looked up at Shikamaru and Temari walking over. "You two ready?"

"Yup." Shikamaru said as Temari threw her suitcase into the trunk and slammed it shut. He immediately got into the passenger seat and stuck in a CD, wanting to relax more than anything.

Neji sighed as Temari commented something about his laziness, then they all got in as well, and Neji started the car.

Shikamaru smelled something. "TenTen, are you eating pizza…?" he asked.

She blinked as he looked around the seat at her. She and Temari had made their own sort of spots in the back seats. TenTen wanted to sit behind Neji, so Temari sat behind Shikamaru.

"Yes." she said innocently, nibbling on the end of her pizza.

"At ten at night?"

Temari laughed. "TenTen, you look like a squirrel when you eat like that."

"Well you look like a rabbit."

"What?!"

"And Shikamaru looks like a moose!"

Shikamaru groaned. "This is gonna be _the_ longest car ride of my life."

"And Neji looks like a human."

"Why are you relating us to animals and Neji's just normal?" Temari cried, but she was laughing soon enough as TenTen burst into giggles. Soon enough Neji and Shikamaru joined them.

And as they drove on, laughing, together, they didn't care to wonder what was ahead or what they were leaving behind.

And so began their journey, their story, and their family.

_I am the invisible nonentity.  
I have affinities and am subtle.  
I am electric, magnetic, and spiritualistic._  
_-- Selecting A Ghost from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle_

6

_**a/n: **_Whew, sorry about the kinda late update. That surgery really crapped me out. Oh, and HeAr No EvIl? Yeah, that's not gonna be updated too soon. Not in a long time. So please wait it out, haha. :P

Another point to make, I have added my top pairings on my profile because a lot of people have been confused about it. If you're shocked by the fact that I love LeeSaku and SasuKarin (go Karin! I love her. XD), well, shut up. lol, that's all I have to say, so I'll see ya'll next update! :)

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	7. Beer

equilibrium

7

_Company always on the run  
Destiny is the rising sun  
I was born a 6-gun in my hand  
Behind a gun I'll make my final stand  
_

"Someone's in a good mood." Temari said as TenTen emerged from the bathroom, toweling her hair and dressed in a long sleeved green shirt and jeans tucked into brown boots, smiling brightly. Temari, in a red and black plaid tank over jeans and black Vans, held up her fork, a bit of pancake on it. They were all in a room of the Hotel Rio, the place that they'd found online as 'haunted'. It had a blue and purple theme, matching the hotel's main colors, which Temari had commented as, 'tacky'.

As in these hotel rooms they could afford two beds only, Shikamaru and Neji had immediately claimed them, forcing the girls to sleep on blankets on the floor. TenTen didn't mind, and Temari only complained once, so they seemed to come up with a permanent system.

TenTen shrugged. "I guess I am in a good mood." she said, throwing the towel over her shoulder. "I have a bunch of candy, so I'm not so tired anymore!"

"You really do eat a ton, don't you?" Shikamaru asked.

TenTen frowned. "Hey, let's look at it this way." she said as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail. "Say me and Temari eat the same amount of food."

"Um, okay, let's say that's possible." Temari muttered.

"In your case, Temari, it would just go straight to your boobs and your ass, making you even more busty than you are!"

Temari grinned. "You think?" she asked happily as Neji and Shikamaru both twitched at the mention.

"Me, it just goes straight to my demon." TenTen continued, her hands on her hips. She pulled on her bangs. "Speaking of that, I want some tic-tac's." she added, running over to her suitcase and digging through it.

"Take a bunch with you, TenTen." Neji said. "We're leaving soon." He had the laptop open on his lap.

"We are?" Temari asked, throwing her plate away.

"Yup. And I have a bit of a plan." Neji said. He turned to Shikamaru. "Still got that suit?"

Shikamaru groaned. "Ah, damn it, we have to pretend to be FBI again?"

"Yup. You and Temari are gonna be Feds today." Neji said.

"Eh? You're saying _I_ have to stick on a suit too?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah. You got some nice clothes from when you went shopping with TenTen, right?"

"Uh, yeah. They're black too…" Temari said thoughtfully.

"Perfect. I have a few fake ID's in that case there, Shikamaru can help you pick one out." He turned to TenTen. "You and me are gonna go investigate downstairs while the other two interrogate all the people that have something to do with the haunting or whatever the hell it is. You ready?"

"Why can't _I _do the dirty work?" Temari complained.

"Because you and Shikamaru look the most like FBI, I have more experience with this kind of stuff, and TenTen doesn't look like Fed material. That's all there is to it."

"So basically you're flicking the rest of us off." Temari said.

Shikamaru laughed as Neji rolled his eyes. "Just get dressed…"

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

Temari fidgeted.

She was dressed in a tight, white, short sleeved shirt with a black collared jacket over it, a cream pencil skirt, and black flats. Shikamaru, next to her, was in a suit. She had to admit, he looked more like a man and less than a lazy ass like that.

The two were sitting at a table in the casino, waiting for the waitress to come and speak with them after her shift was over in three minutes. Another waitress was up at another table singing Karaoke, surrounding by jeering men and smirking like a slut. Over by some machines, obese people were sitting on stools and staring as if mesmerized at the screens of their gambling game. Addicted, their eyes reflected in the glass among the many colored lights, licking the corners of their dry lips occasionally but never blinking.

"Stop twitching." Shikamaru muttered. "It's getting annoying seeing you jump every five seconds, it makes me think something's coming after us."

"I just hate sitting in something like this." Temari hissed. "It's so tight!"

"You think being in a suit's any better?" Shikamaru retorted. "We're supposed to be acting like FBI, just sit tight and deal with it."

Temari tried not to pout like her angry instincts told her to and turned away.

Finally the waitress came over. Largely breasted, short hair up in a sloppy ponytail dyed a sickly whitish blonde, and covered with makeup from head to toe, including the thick black outliner that surrounded her brown eyes like shadows. She sat down in her tiny outfit with a nervous smile.

"So, um…FBI, hmm?"

"Yep." Shikamaru said calmly. "If you'd like to see some ID-"

"That's alright, I believe you." The waitress interrupted him. "I'm just confused as to why you'd be interested in me…"

"More like your story." Shikamaru said.

"You mean…what happened down in the storage room…?" The waitress's eyes grew larger, and the corners of her lips, layered with about three slabs of lipstick, twitched, eager to tell a story. "Oh you wanna hear _that_, do you?"

Shikamaru nodded slowly. Temari tried not to be too distracted with the globs of blush and cover-up sprinkling off her face in little balls of powder.

She leaned even closer, so Temari could see every wrinkle in her eye-shadow. "I'll tell you what happened." she said, her voice lowering. "It's happened to two other people."

"Who were they?" Temari asked quickly. Shikamaru glared at her, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What, was she supposed to leave it all to him?

"Well, that fat barman over there…" She pointed to a large chubby man shaking a martini while chatting away with a drunken boy at the stool. "Oh, and Tsunade."

"Tsunade?" Temari asked. "Who's that?"

The waitress grinned. "Worst gambler in the casino!" she cried. "Haha, it's _lucky_ if you get a shot against her, because she can never win! And what's better is that she's _addicted_ to it. She works as a waitress at a pub down the street, but she stops here every day on her way home to try her bets. It's never good."

Temari and Shikamaru glanced at each other then turned back to her. "We'll have to ask you for the other two's means of communication later." Shikamaru said. "For now, can you tell us exactly what happened? And don't leave out any details or anything."

The waitress smiled.

muirbiliuqe

"Sure this is it?" TenTen asked softly.

She glanced over the counter, watching Shikamaru and Temari chat to the waitress, their backs turned to them. The other waitress that was supposed to be at the counter at the moment? Conveniently late due to a phone call at the last minute telling her that her grandmother was sick in the hospital. One of Neji's finest creations, he'd told TenTen earlier not-so-modestly as he flipped through the hotel flip-book. Now she laughed a little to herself. This was getting fun.

"Yeah, I'm sure this is it. Here's the door to the basement storage room." Neji said.

TenTen looked down and stuck a hand in the pocket of her new, green hooded jacket. Her fingers curled around the cold metal of the gun Neji had given her before they set out on this. It had rock salt in it, for bullets, he'd said. The same thing he'd shot her demon with when it first showed its face to her.

"Hey." She turned to Neji, who was watching her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she said quickly.

"Okay…Well help me lift this."

"Yes sir!" She ran over to the door to the basement and stared. It was like the opening to a cellar, just an old fashioned trap door set in the wood of the floor with a large, rusted iron handle. "Wow…"

"Yeah, I know, definitely something creepy." Neji said thoughtfully. "Which is why we have to check it out."

She smiled. "Yes sir." She grabbed the handle with two hands, and Neji squeezed his fingers through next to hers, then together, grunting, they wrenched the old door open. It was thick and heavy, and TenTen found herself panting for breath when they finally let it drop with a semi-loud thunk to the ground.

"Well, I'll get in first." Neji flicked on his flashlight and turned around, then lowered himself in. Apparently there was a bit of a ladder you had to climb down first before you got to the steps.

TenTen waited, crouching at the mouth of the door and looking down, as the small circle of yellow from his flashlight got smaller and smaller, the top of Neji's head disappearing into the dark. People walked past, not noticing. Finally he called, "Okay, you can come down now. And close the door."

"Yes sir." she said quickly, and she turned around and lowered a foot into the basement. She kicked around for her footing, found it, and dug the other foot in as well, then climbed lower, one hand pulling the door back down as she went, wincing at the weight of it.

The flashing of different colored lights and gurgling laughs and tinkles and clanks of drinks disappeared as the door slammed shut with a shuddering thud, and TenTen continued heading down toward the light of Neji's flashlight. When she finally got to him she let go and dropped to the ground.

Neji turned to face the small decent of wooden stairs that led just a bit lower to a type of cellar, shining around with his flashlight. "Geeze, it goes so low." TenTen said quietly.

"It's probably to put more pressure on the beer and wine so it'll taste better." Neji said smartly.

"Probably." TenTen agreed. The two just stood there, looking.

Neji sighed. "Let's get going then." He stepped forward, the floor creaking beneath him indignantly. TenTen followed him down the steps to a dirt ground, packed tightly against some sort of cement. It was silent except for the whoosh of the air and the creaking of the floor above them. The stench of soggy cardboard and wine filled her nostrils, dust clouded her vision angrily, and a little ant scurried around the bend of a wall.

TenTen scraped her shoe along the ground and observed her surroundings. Shelves of bottles and gambling tools, a box of crackers. No electricity visibly present. TenTen frowned. "It looks…old." she decided.

"It is. Take a look at this." Neji said. TenTen walked over to him. He was bent over an open box. She looked over his shoulder. "Look at the label." he said, bending back a piece of the cardboard.

There was a black stamp on it. TenTen squinted to read it in the dim light.

**Cray's Brewery**

**Since 1800**

"Wow…1800…?" TenTen asked quietly.

"Looks like we've got some history to look up here." Neji said thoughtfully.

TenTen nodded, narrowing her eyes. "But what…?" Her voice faded when suddenly the flashlight began to flicker in Neji's hands.

Neji narrowed his eyes, watching it. The flashlight soon went out, and Neji hissed a curse when they were both thrown into darkness. "TenTen, you alright? This is usually the first signs of something supernatural."

TenTen opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes widened. Her voice came out muffled, and her mouth felt cold and slimy; there was something covering her lips.

"Mph!" She clawed at whatever was slapped over her mouth furiously, but the same sensation came over her arms, twisting them painfully behind her back.

"TenTen?!"

She narrowed her eyes and kicked behind her. Her mouth was loosened, and she bit down hard. Her mouth was soon free, and she spit.

"Neji!"

"Got you!" Suddenly there was a bright light. TenTen winced but trained herself to keep her eyes open. A long flame erupted from the air and lit up Neji's face, and she looked down at whatever was twisted around her, illuminated. Her eyes widened.

"What the…?!" she gasped, staring over her shoulder.

A face, jaw wide open, blood pouring from every pore of the left cheek, gawked at her. The dead man's graying skin hung off of his jaw, spittle and puss rolling from his eyes and mouth and nose. TenTen felt her stomach churn.

And then it disappeared in a flash, and she stumbled forward towards Neji, who was holding a match. "What…was that…?" TenTen panted, shivering.

"Ghost." Neji said simply, watching her reaction. "Looks like you've seen your first one."

TenTen laughed weakly, her voice shaking. "It's creepier than a demon."

"That's because it can't hide itself."

"Why…did it leave? Does it not like light…?"

"No, it'll be back." Neji said businesslike. "Stay by me and get out your gun." As he spoke he pulled out his own, holding up the match in his hands to light the small chamber.

"How do you know it'll be back?" TenTen asked quietly, back to him and extracting her gun from her jacket.

"Because it's still here…" Neji said darkly. TenTen bit her lip. He was right. There was that feeling…Something was watching them…Goosebumps danced along her skin, but she calmed herself. She wasn't afraid of the dark. She wasn't afraid of some damn dead son of a bitch.

"There!" Neji yelled suddenly, and she whipped around to see the ghost hovering in the air, but Neji shot at it quickly and it disappeared, rippling into the air in a burst of smoke. Neji grit his teeth. "Come on, ass hole, come out…" he muttered, turning on the spot.

"I think it's gone…" TenTen said slowly. She was starting to feel somewhat useless as she watched Neji staring around the room.

And that's when she saw a shadow unnaturally curving around Neji's own shadow against the far wall. She narrowed her eyes. "Found you."

"What?"

She suddenly shot at the air right next to Neji's face. There was a terribly loud screeching that made TenTen gulp, and the demon flashed into view where she'd shot, hands on Neji's shoulders, before disappearing. This time, TenTen was sure it was gone, and she let out the breath she'd been holding in.

Neji exhaled as well, stumbled backwards a bit and holding onto his shoulders self-consciously. "Nice."

She smiled a bit. "Thanks?"

He laughed. "Let's get out of here, we can't fight it like this. It's not gonna come back soon anyways."

"Yeah, okay."

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"It just grabbed me, and I screamed and the door opened and he let me go, and I ran as fast as the hell I could to get out of there!"

Temari and Shikamaru both groaned. "You said that…" Temari said through her teeth.

"Five times…" Shikamaru growled.

The waitress laughed guiltily. "Oh, did I? Sorry, I didn't realize. I tend to repeat myself sometimes, hah."

"Sometimes?" Temari muttered.

"Alright, well, I think we've got our story. Thank you…" Shikamaru said loudly, standing.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay around for a drink or something?" The waitress quickly suggested.

"No. I'm sure." Shikamaru said sternly as Temari stretched aggravatingly. He turned, grabbed Temari's arm tightly, earning a yelp from the woman, and dragged her away.

"That was the most pointless shit I've ever heard." he snapped as he dropped her arm, marching down the halls to the elevator past crowds of people, feet echoing on the tiled floors and soon enough being muffled by beige carpet. They turned into a skinnier hall and Temari had to hurry to keep up with Shikamaru's speed walking.

"Hey, I dunno, at least we know that some weird dead man's down there." Temari said.

"It doesn't matter what the hell he looks like, I wanna know who he is!" Shikamaru said angrily, slamming a hand into the wall as he stopped next to an elevator. A couple who had already pressed the 'up' button glanced at him, and Shikamaru glared at them. "What the hell are you lookin at?"

The couple both turned away quickly, muttering under their breaths. Shikamaru snorted. "Friggin honeymoon saps." he said darkly.

"Calm down, would you? They didn't do anything wrong." Temari said reasonably.

"Ah shut up, I'm in a bad mood." he said. "That woman just wasted half an hour of my life that I could be using to find my dad. I swear to god we're not getting anywhere hunting ghosts and demons. We could just ditch these places and go to the next one! We'll find dad better that way!"

"And while you're at it, leave these people to die." Temari predicted grimly.

"So what?! Is it our problem?!" Shikamaru asked. Fortunately the 'honeymoon saps' had gone on to another elevator by this time. "Do me and Neji always have to save the ass of people like you all over the country? Do we _have_ to drag _you_ along?"

"No." Temari said simply. "But you can, and you do. So that makes you…uh…" She tried to find a word, but shrugged and just said, "Cool."

He stared at her and turned away. "I wish the elevator would hurry up." he mumbled.

"Yeah, don't we all." Temari said. Shikamaru noticed a bit of a smile on her face out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, wait for us why don't you." Neji and TenTen walked up to the two. TenTen looked slightly breathless, and Neji just looked as calm as ever, though there was a bit of gunpowder on his shoulder that Shikamaru could recognize when he looked closely.

"Dude, don't go walkin' around a hotel like that." Shikamaru said, brushing the dust off of his friend's shoulders.

Neji glanced casually down. "Whoops."

"You'd die without me, sometimes, man." Shikamaru said, entering the elevator.

"Pfft, are you kidding me? I fought alone for months before I finally had to ask for your help." Neji said, the rest of them following him.

"Alright, remember jumping off the bridge? That was my idea." Shikamaru said, turning around as TenTen pressed the floor number. "If I hadn't thought of that we'd both be run over by that friggin Jeep. And if I hadn't caught your wrist you would've drowned to death."

"I'm not a kid, I can handle myself. I probably would've found my own way around it."

"Yeah, sure."

"Well what about when we were kids, huh? I'd always be the one to save your ass!"

TenTen and Temari stared at the two from the side of the elevator. They glanced at each other then back to the arguing men. "This is…interesting…" Temari said in an undertone.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"1800's?" Shikamaru asked.

They all sat in their tacky hotel room. Shikamaru and Neji were on their beds, both still a little short tempered with the other, and Temari and TenTen each sat on Shikamaru's bed as he lay down, head turned to Neji who was typing away on the laptop.

"Yup, 1800's." Neji said distractedly. "And even though we got so much on him, I can't find _anything_ about it!" He groaned, frustrated. "Damn it, I hate this junk."

"Ah move over, dumb ass." Shikamaru shoved Neji to the side a bit as he rose and sat next to him, grabbing the laptop and balancing it on his own knees. "Okay…you're looking up 'Homicide In The Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, 1800."

"Yeah. Thought maybe he might have been murdered, that's usually the case in vengeful spirits." Neji said.

"That's okay, but what if it wasn't homicide…?" Shikamaru asked slowly.

Neji blinked. "What…?"

"Suicide, Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, 1800's." Shikamaru muttered, and then he clicked something, and smirked. "Bingo."

"What?!" Neji stared at the screen and swore. "You're kidding me…"

"And you said you didn't need me." Shikamaru said, crossing his arms behind his head smugly.

"Shut up. Jackass." Neji muttered as he grabbed his laptop and clicked on the screen.

"It's like…sibling rivalry or something…" TenTen heard Temari whisper to her. She nodded slowly, feeling a little out of place.

"Huh…We have something." Neji said suddenly, eyes wide. "Looks like a guy got drunk and killed himself down in that cellar."

"That was easy." Shikamaru said. Then he chuckled. "Well, for _me_." That earned a glare that he ignored from Neji.

"So next step is going to be lookin for his bones, I guess." Neji said, snapping the laptop shut, satisfied.

"What? Why?" Temari asked.

"Burning bones is the only way to get rid of a spirit." Shikamaru explained. "We just sprinkle salt on it, then oil, and drop a match in."

Temari groaned. "You're serious? That's gonna be freaky. And I bet we gotta do it in the middle of the night too, right?"

"Right. So less people can see."

"Great." TenTen said, sighing.

"It _is_ great." Shikamaru said with a smirk. "And it gets greater, lucky you. If it turns out the body's been cremated, then it'll be even harder to get rid of him."

"Is there a way to get rid of him if he's been cremated?" Temari asked.

"Yeah, but that only means that his spirit's staying on earth because it's hanging on to something. It can be anything, really, some sort of object. If that's the case, we either gotta burn that object or convince the idiot to let go already."

"And the latter never works. Ever." Neji said, standing. "Me and Shikato have tried it so many times that we just gave up. They try to kill us if we try to reason with them."

"Fuckers." Shikamaru muttered. "Neji and Shikato had some sort of love goin on when it came to sparing a demon or ghost's feelings. Me, I don't like em. I wouldn't hesitate to kill one on the spot, they annoy the hell out of me."

"Everything annoys you, Shikamaru." TenTen said with a laugh.

"Alright shut up and let's research some more." Shikamaru said darkly. "Name and age and date of death, lifespan, everything. We need to know it. Especially if he had or has any relatives. So you two…" He turned to Neji and TenTen. "…can get looking while me and this troublesome woman go interview the barman then take a look around for this 'Tsunade'."

Neji sighed. "I guess that's the plan…" He turned to TenTen. "Let's start, then…"

"Yes sir!"

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Yeah man?"

Shikamaru answered his cell phone, knowing Neji would be the only one to call at this time. He was in the car with Temari in the passenger seat, both on their way back to the hotel. The sky was black and the first stars were poking their heads out of the grey clouds eagerly. It was a hot night, and the windows were open. Temari was gazing out the window, but now she turned to Shikamaru.

"_Hey, Shikamaru, how're things going with you two?"_ Neji's voice asked through the phone.

"Not so good." Shikamaru muttered. "Dude, we can't find any traces of this Tsunade person, I'm starting to think she's kind of suspicious."

"_What do you mean you can't find any traces of her?"_

"She either doesn't exist or she's doing a hell of a job at covering herself up." Shikamaru explained. "We can't seem to get a good lead on her, but we're getting somewhere, I guess."

"_Where's that?"_

"So far everyone we've talked to that actually has a bit of a clue of where she could be going next say that she's headed South."

"_Well…we have something on her, so you don't need to worry."_ Neji assured him.

"No, Neji, I think there's something about her…" Shikamaru said. "I just have a feeling she might be a hunter."

Neji was silent.

"A hunter?" Temari asked. "You mean that there's a lot of them? People like you, I mean?"

"Yeah, there's a few out there." Shikamaru said distractedly.

"_A hunter…?"_

"Yeah, or something like it."

"_Well...I can't say you're right on that…But she's definitely important, so save her name, alright?"_

"Got it."

"_For now, come back to the hotel. We got news on this guy."_

"On our way." Shikamaru hung up the phone and sighed. "Damn it's been a long day." he muttered as he stopped at a light. Las Vegas' traffic was by far the most crowded and disgusting he'd ever had to travel through. At night it was even worse. The lights were blinding, prostitutes flung their pictures out the windows, littering the damp sidewalks. Screams and raucous laughter. Drunks and people with painted faces, dancers and waitresses, gamblers, honeymooners.

"Hey Shikamaru?" Temari asked, pulling him away from the window.

"What?" he mumbled rudely.

"Are you and Neji brothers?" Shikamaru stared at her incredulously and she corrected herself quickly. "I mean, I know not blood-related, but, like, adopted?"

"No, we're not. The idiot just _thinks_ he's my older brother."

"You're just really close friends?"

Shikamaru heaved a sigh, revving the engine impatiently as cars honked and beeped loudly around them.

"Sure."

"Childhood friends?"

"Yeah."

Temari was watching him still.

"What?"

"I think you want him to be your brother." Temari said quietly, looking out the window though so she wouldn't annoy him more than she already had. "I think you want to be close to him but something's holding you back. Is it your dad?"

"Why are you so interested?" Shikamaru had no intentions of answering, or even thinking about at all, that idiotic question the stupid woman had the guts to ask.

"Because I have brothers and I know what it feels like." Temari said, and Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.

"It's nothing to think about. We're friends, and that's it. Just because he hung around with my dad more than me doesn't make him more of a son to my father than I am. It doesn't make him his son."

He was repeating himself. Damn it, he was repeating himself like an idiot and Temari next to him was noticing. He clenched his jaw. This woman was really irritating him. He was just trying to convince himself otherwise than what she had told him and he knew it, but it was getting too…

"What are you doing, idiot, drive!"

"Shut up, I know!" Shikamaru stomped on the petal angrily. Fortunately driving always let out his fury. So he didn't have to vent in other ways.

He knew he wouldn't hesitate, in this position, to hurt her.

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Name was Nikko Thornton." Back in the hotel room, eating pizza that TenTen had ordered excitedly, Neji and TenTen were informing Shikamaru and Temari what they'd found. "He lived from 1980 to 2000, where he killed himself at the age of twenty."

"Huh. Looks like the fact that the brewery was founded in the 1800's is pretty much useless." Temari said, sticking the corner of a slice of pizza she'd gotten from the box on the counter into her mouth.

"Yeah, looks like it." TenTen said with a shrug. "Oh, and he _did_ commit suicide, and down in the brewery too. Apparently he'd been cheating on his wife with another woman before he killed himself, and his wife had just found out."

Shikamaru nodded slowly, but his eyes flashed as if he was thinking hard about something. Neji recognized that look but decided not to bug him, he probably wouldn't answer anyways. "And it gets better." he went on. "He had a relative. His great aunt. Want to take a guess at who it is?"

Temari stared at him. "Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, but let's just shoot. Tsunade?"

"Right." TenTen said with a snap of her fingers.

Temari sighed. "Jesus. Looks like you were right, Shikamaru." Shikamaru said nothing. Temari groaned. "If that's the lady we need to interview, then we have a lot of looking on our hands."

"Wait, wait, it doesn't end there!" TenTen sang. "He had a mother too, you know. She's still alive, and we even have her address."

Temari blinked. "Whoa, seriously? Then I guess we're okay."

"Yep, and we already called her and asked her a couple questions."

"Wow, while we were driving around in circles you two had it all laid out!" Temari cried. "Damn it, I feel like we wasted our time!"

"That's cause we did, idiot." Shikamaru said.

"Shut your mouth, buddy, or I swear I'll-"

"Going on!" TenTen said loudly. "We found out that his body wasn't buried. He was cremated."

Shikamaru groaned as Temari tried not to pummel him. "Ah, you didn't have to put it so bluntly." he mumbled, lying on his back on his bed.

"Yeah, this sucks." Neji agreed darkly. "But I guess we have nothing to do but search that basement one more time."

"Ah, really?" TenTen asked, shivering. "That thing was really freaky, when it touched me…" She moaned and hugged herself. "Damn freak, you know what, I'll go down there just to shoot that son of a-"

"Oh, you saw your first ghost, did you?" Temari grinned. "Haha, I remember when I saw mine."

"You saw ghosts even before this, Temari?" TenTen asked, surprised as she peered over her arms.

"Yup. Ghosts tend to be attracted to half demons, seem to find us their prey. They used to flock to my house." She gave a grim laugh. "First time I saw one I was thirteen and watching my brothers at the park. It was just this huge guy covered in blood that had gotten killed at the park because his head was sliced off by the chains on a swing. Freak accident thing, you know."

Shikamaru watched her as she leaned back nostalgically against the counter.

"It tried to make a move at me, maybe rip out my heart or something, I don't know, and I just grabbed the nearest thing to me which was this rusty iron rod or something lying in the sand and just wacked at him. I thought he was some weirdo murderer or something trying to kidnap me at first, but then he just disappeared."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Interesting. You weren't scared at all?"

"Nah. I always knew something was wrong with me. I'm not a human, after all, so I dunno if I can feel fear the same way you guys do. I can feel it, but not…strong." Temari shrugged. "It's confusing. I guess I don't really know much about what I am." She smiled. "What about you guys? What about your first ghost? You had to start somewhere, right?"

Neji and Shikamaru's faces both darkened. "Our first ghost." Neji laughed grimly, a harsh sound that caused TenTen to twitch visibly. He remembered the footsteps, the shadow in the window, and he knew Shikamaru was remembering the same thing.

"That son of a bitch?" Shikamaru asked quietly. "Heh. He's still alive."

"What…do you mean…?" Temari asked, voice suddenly hushed, noticing the two men's strange new expressions.

"That…" Neji said softly. "…was the thing that killed my dad fourteen years ago."

"And Asuma." Shikamaru added. "Seven weeks ago…"

Temari and TenTen stared at them. Temari's eyes were large. "I…"

"Housekeeping!"

All four in the room jumped. "We've gotten distracted." Neji said quickly, standing. "Listen, are you guys all ready to go down in that basement again tonight?"

They all nodded silently at the same time. Shikamaru and Neji still had shadows thrown across their faces. Memories spilled into Temari's eyes. TenTen glanced back and forth between them. Scared. Confused.

Angry.

Neji sighed. "Good."

Another few harsh raps at the door.

"Later please!"

7

_**new song: **Bad Company_ by _Bad Company_. (That's fun to say. :P)

_**a/n: **_Just tryin to dig some more into the character's past and personalities. Why yes, this is an update in equilibrium! Late, but an update. XD Haha. I'm so sorry. But since I feel generous, and since it's the holidays, and since I've been on an updating spree lately since I'm on break and I have a _ton_ of time on my hands, I'll stick this present under the tree for you all and hope you enjoy it. :P HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	8. Trust

equilibrium

8

_Rebel souls  
Deserters we are called  
Chose a gun and threw away the sword_  
_Now these towns they all know our name _  
_6-gun sound is our claim to fame  
_

Temari felt like pummeling the barman.

At night in the hotel Rio there was still activity, more than there was at day to be exact. In the next room the Chippendales or the Blue Men or whatever they were called - she couldn't quite remember who it was in the first place and didn't particularly care - were performing, and she could hear the cheers of some women as she propped an elbow delicately on the bar's counter.

There was only one way to get behind the counter as discreetly as possible, and that was to get the barman distracted for at least an hour. And there was only one way to convince a young, fresh-faced, perverted barman, probably only trying to get a living and get through college, to leave the bar for an hour.

And Temari was the perfect specimen.

She'd volunteered herself, of course. She certainly didn't want TenTen showing off her body, she was far too innocent for something like that. Temari had experience. She only wished Shikamaru would stop watching her like a hawk. If he was so bugged that she was flirting, then why didn't he come up and stop her?

"So, sweetie…" Temari tried not to flinch and managed a giddy giggle at the mention of her new nickname that barman had given her.

"Hmm?" she asked smoothly.

"What's your name?" he asked with a friendly smile, leaning against the counter and cleaning out a small glass with a rag. He _was_ quite good looking, a brunette with some blonde dashed in and soft green eyes. But she'd never really liked skinny wimps like that. He reminded her of a softball player, which was a major turnoff.

"Te..." She paused.

'_Crap, I forgot; no real names…_' she thought.

"Something wrong?"

She laughed. "Sorry, drink's gone to my head. It's Terra." she lied easily with a wave of her hand.

"Ah." He smiled. "Nice name. It fits you."

"Thank you." She was insulted he thought such a simple name would suit someone like her. What was his name again, Mike? Len? She couldn't even remember. And not because the drink had gone to her head, no, she hadn't even _had_ any drinks, but because she could care less.

She shifted her hip to the side slyly. "So, Len…"

"Al."

"Mike…" She gave him a sly smile that distracted him from any stray thoughts about his name. "I was thinking you could do me a little favor…?"

"What's that?" he asked, leaning closer with a smirk, looking rather excited.

She pointed her thumb over her shoulder discreetly. "See that guy over there?" She found a random drunk that seemed to be single and there alone, lowering her voice as if she didn't want anyone else around them to hear. "He's the one that took me here, and, um, I'd like him taken care of for a bit?"

He grinned a bit. "There's a storage closet near him."

"That'll work." she said with a small laugh.

He suddenly leaned closer, grabbing her chin with his hand firmly, eyes lusty and staring right at her. "And what'll you pay me for this service…?" he murmured huskily. "I take MasterCard…"

She resisted pushing him away and forced herself to stare right back into his eyes. "Cash, of course…" she said in a hushed, seductive voice, smirk still in place, though quivering in the slightest as she felt herself getting more and more uncomfortable, knowing the other three were still watching on the sidelines. At least they couldn't hear the innuendo Temari knew oh so well.

He chuckled. "Be right back." he said, winking and walking away.

Temari waited till he was out of sight, and then followed, nodding at the others, whose mouths were open as if wondering how she had just done that. TenTen recovered first and gave her the thumbs up, and Temari laughed behind her hand and turned around again, waiting for the barman to get near the storage closet.

When at last he did, opening it slowly while glancing at the drunken man Temari had mentioned, Temari slunk soundlessly behind him, grabbed a beer bottle from the side table, and pushed him inside while crashing the bottle over his head. It smashed, covered by the loud sounds of pool and Karaoke, and the man crumpled to the floor in the storage closet along with the shattered glass littered around him. Temari grabbed the keys from his body, staring around her warily meanwhile to make sure no one had seen. Fortunately they hadn't, too distracted by gambling, and she closed the door and strode on over to the other three who were behind the counter and waiting for her.

"Wow. You know your stuff, Temari, nice." TenTen said with a grin as Neji struggled with the cellar door on the floor.

Temari smiled. "Thanks. I know my way around those creeps. He was easy to manipulate." She felt Shikamaru's eyes on the back of her neck and turned her head over her shoulder to glare at him. "What?"

He rolled his eyes, emotion hidden by his stoic face. "Nothing. That was stupid." he muttered in a rush. The way he said it, it was as if he was only trying to convince himself.

"Got it open." Neji clapped the dust from his hands as he gazed down into the pitch black square they were to descend. Like the hungry mouth of some great wooden beast, gaping at them eagerly, greedy for their blood. Of course, Temari had been there, done that.

"I'll go in first. TenTen, you're next, then Shikamaru. Temari, you're last." Neji ordered as they all pulled out their flashlights and checked their pockets for their guns. "It's probably hostile."

Shikamaru said nothing, but Temari could see him roll his eyes. What, did he think it wasn't? Hadn't it grabbed TenTen? How was _that_ not hostile?

They all climbed down in order. Temari, last, pulled the wooden door closed behind her, shutting off the lights and raucous laughter with a loud thump. When she could see the others waiting below she let go of the footings and dropped down next to them. She grinned. "Alright, let's get this son of a bitch."

"You're a little too eager for something like this." Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow.

She shrugged and got out her flashlight, fingering her gun. Neji and Shikamaru sure knew their stuff, she thought to herself as they walked carefully down the steps, the wood creaking beneath their feet. Jugs of holy water, guns with rock salt for bullets, rusted iron rods, weapons galore piled in the trunk of their car beneath a tan throw-over blanket. They had everything they needed. No wonder they were so prepared when they thought she was a witch.

She sighed as they stepped onto the flatter ground, flashlights throwing orbs and shadows along the walls. She kicked up a cloud of dust thoughtfully as she watched Shikamaru looking into a box curiously. For some reason, he seemed too innocent to her. So young. It was strange, because he acted even older than she was. That was what was so sad about him…

She hissed, annoyed, when she felt pressure on her foot. "TenTen, would you quit stepping on me?" she muttered.

"What?"

Temari blinked and looked to the side, flashlight swiveling in the direction of the voice. TenTen was on the other side of the room. She turned to see Neji and Shikamaru also staring at her, across the room. Her eyes widened, and she looked down to feel her stomach twist.

A grimy, bloody, warty gray hand was curled around her ankle tightly, long nails snagging on the hems of her jeans. Before anyone could react, she yelled out in surprise when she felt herself get dragged to the ground, slamming face first into the dust and flung backwards into the darkness painfully. She was let go of, and she stumbled to her feet, trying to get her bearings, but suddenly a door slammed in her face.

"Temari!" she heard TenTen cry, surprised, near the door, banging on it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Neji called.

"Y…Yeah, I'm fine." she replied through the door. She couldn't see, everything was pitch black, but by the lack of echoes she thought she must be in a very small room. Probably some storage closet. She grasped the door, wincing at the slimy feel of it, and tried to open it. She pushed one way, then pulled the other, and she could hear TenTen trying on the other side as well.

"It's not moving!" TenTen said.

Temari bit her lip. "I'm gonna see if there's another way out." she said to them, and she turned on her flashlight.

A face was lit up instantly in front of her. Bloody, the skin of its jaw hanging off, gaping, teeth falling and puss rolling from its eyes and nose.

Temari screamed in spite of herself and dropped the flashlight, which spun crazily, flashing up different parts of the room in wild clashes of color. She stumbled backwards against the door and cursed aloud.

"Temari?!"

"I'm okay, but it's in here with me!" she yelled angrily.

"We're trying to break it down, it just won't move!" TenTen said. "Neji said something about a-"

"Supernatural lock down, I know!" Temari snapped. "It's happened to me before, there's no way around it. This things trying to keep me here for something."

"Temari, hey, listen to me."

Temari raised an eyebrow as Shikamaru's voice spoke calmly through the door. Why calmly? She was going to get ripped to shreds! She grit her teeth angrily and closed her eyes, trying to calm as well. He was right to be calm, that was the only way to think. "What?"

"Don't run away from it."

"What?!"

"You have to _listen_ to it!" Shikamaru explained quickly.

"I have to _what_?!"

"She has to _what_?!"

"Shikamaru, are you sure?"

Temari waited for an answer, seeing her flashlight still on the floor, lighting up the wall in front of her. She wondered where it was. She couldn't see half the room, since it was basically covered in darkness.

"I'm sure."

"Why did you hesitate?" TenTen asked incredulously.

"Just do it, Temari, don't move and let it talk to you." Shikamaru said loudly. "I don't think it'll hurt you."

"And if it _does_ can I haunt you for the rest of eternity please?!" Temari shouted, knowing this wasn't the place for jokes.

Shikamaru chuckled on the other side of the door weakly. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Shikamaru, you're not sure of yourself." Temari said, swallowing hard as a shadow moved on the wall.

"Just trust me."

She paused. Trust…

"Temari?"

"_What's wrong, Temari?"_

"_I've been thinking…Do you guys trust me?"_

"_What kind of stupid question is that? Of course we trust you. You're our older sister. You've taken care of us when our mum wouldn't. We have no one else to trust."_

"_Even if I'm not a human? Do you trust me to take care of you? To keep you alive? Do you trust me to never talk behind your back and laugh at you? Do you trust me enough to cry into my shoulder when you need to?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Definitely."_

"_Why?"_

She stared at the ghost walking slowly toward her and controlled her breathing, concentrating on it. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't scary, it wasn't disgusting. This working, she straightened up and waited for it to come to her.

"_Why do you trust me? Kankerou, Gaara? Why does everyone trust me?"_

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"I hope you're right about this, Shikamaru." TenTen said quietly, turning to look at the man, who was staring at the door looking very unsure of himself.

He closed his eyes. "…Yeah, me too."

TenTen and Neji both widened their eyes.

All at once, the door opened.

Shikamaru straightened up, and TenTen bit her lip. If Temari was dead, she would _never_ forgive Shikamaru. If she was injured, it would be _hard_ to convince her to forgive Shikamaru. If she was alright…she'd be forever grateful. She decided all that there and then, and then swore at herself inwardly for thinking something like that when Temari was in this position.

And finally Temari emerged, saying something cruel under her breath and wiping her cheek moodily. She gave Shikamaru a glare, who in turn laughed a bit, looking slightly relieved. "You weren't even confident yourself!"

"It was the only way." he said, shrugging carelessly.

"Wait, he was _right_?!" Neji asked loudly, glancing between Temari and Shikamaru.

Temari nodded. "Mhm, the jackass was right."

"I saved your life and you call me a jackass?"

"Don't tempt me, the thing bled on me and I've never felt so grossed out in my life." Temari muttered darkly.

"Damn it, why are you _always_ right?" Neji grumbled. "I'm _always _the wrong one, aren't I?"

TenTen giggled a bit, then turned to Temari. "So what did it say to you?"

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, concentrating and seeming very confused. "It said…" She shook her head. "It said, '_My wife._'"

muirbiliuqe

"Why would it say 'My wife'?" TenTen asked as they sat yet again in the hotel room, Temari still a little unsettled from being bled on by a dead man.

"I think Shikamaru has an idea." Neji said as he closed the door, looking over at the lazy man himself who just lay on a bed, sucking on a cigarette and puffing the black smoke into the air above him like a chimney, filling the room with an overwhelming odor.

He lifted his head to look over his body at the mention of his name. "What makes ya think that?"

"Because you knew that it didn't want to hurt us." Neji said sternly, walking over. "You knew that it was trying to tell us something. So you'd better spill before something else happens."

"Yeah, I mean, you could have told us before it dragged me into a room and threw me to the ground, man, I got bruises on my knees now." Temari snapped.

Shikamaru inhaled the cigarette slowly, then lifted it from his lips and sat up while breathing out, the smoke escaping from between his teeth. "Alright, here's the thing. I'm just guessing, but I think he didn't actually kill himself."

"Oh…So…" TenTen frowned. "His wife did?"

"Yeah, that would explain most things." Shikamaru said slowly, nodding.

"So it wasn't suicide, but _ho_micide." Neji muttered. "Damn, we keep going back and forth, don't we?"

"Hey, feel good about yourself." Shikamaru said. "You were right the first time."

Neji smirked at that. TenTen laughed a bit, then turned to Shikamaru. "So his wife was the one that murdered him. What's this have to do with the fact that he's a ghost?"

"He was killed recently." Shikamaru said. "So that means, since he was cremated, we have to figure out what's holding him down there."

"What could that be?" Temari asked.

Neji rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll just have to go back down there and take a look."

"Damn it, if that thing touches me one more time, I swear I'll shoot it down to hell myself." Temari growled. She blinked. "Oh, but wait, shouldn't we be researching on his wife?"

Shikamaru nodded. "That's what I was thinking." he said. "She _was_ the murderer after all. We don't have proof, but we can look around her house to see if there's anything that could be connected to Nikko Thornton."

"Perfect." Neji clapped his hands together once, business-like. "Alright. Since the ghost seems to like you two so much, TenTen, Temari, you'll go and search the wife's place. It's Las Vegas, so it'll be hard to find her, but I think you can pull it off." The women both nodded. "Me and Shikamaru will search the basement one more time. I doubt it'll be hard to knock the barman out. If any of us find anything useful, we'll call each other immediately."

"And for now," Shikamaru said, "I'm going to sleep."

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"Damn it. Answer the door, woman…" Temari growled impatiently the next afternoon.

She stood with TenTen in front of the door to a small apartment building, having knocked at the door harshly for the fifth time. Both were dressed in black dress pants, white collared shirts, long black trench coats, and red ties, black boots beneath. They'd borrowed the outfits, except for the socks and shoes, from Neji and Shikamaru. Without asking, but being them, they didn't really care what the men thought of them. They had their fake ID's Neji had provided them with not too long ago hidden in their pockets. They'd decided this was, by far, much easier than wearing nice clothes that might only be hampered and ruined while fighting in, and it had been easy to adjust the jackets and shirts and pants with scissors and a needle and thread.

"Maybe we should just sneak in." TenTen suggested cautiously, stuffing her hands in her pockets and kicking at the foot molding to interest herself. She really was bored easily, Temari noticed.

She sighed. "I guess we'll have to." She grinned. "Fortunately those boys really know their stuff." She pulled out the long copper wire still inside the jacket she'd borrowed from Shikamaru. She slipped it easily into the keyhole as TenTen glanced around to make sure no one was in the hallway. Finally Temari heard it click and she cracked the door open. She turned to TenTen, who nodded and removed her gun, holding it in front of her and slipping through first. Temari followed shortly after, closing the door behind her with a small, soundless click.

Temari and TenTen looked around. It was a small grey living room they entered first, half the room serving as a kitchen. They saw a door open, however, off down the side hallway, and they glanced at each other then simultaneously walked silently towards it, as quietly as they could on the carpeted floor.

There were photo frames along the wall they slunk down, showing pictures of an attractive blonde woman smiling, sometimes with her friends or family. That was their target, apparently. She worked, they'd figured out back at the hotel after about an hour of researching, at the same hotel casino as a waitress, and she stayed here at this dinky apartment off to the side of some alleyway near the Strip.

The door was open enough for them to slip through, but Temari pushed TenTen aside gently and silently peered through. She couldn't get enough of a vision, though, and so she took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and pushed the door open slowly.

It creaked just a bit, making Temari and TenTen wince at the same time, and they crept in. As soon as they stepped into the room, they froze and stared. Temari's mouth slowly opened.

A woman, about TenTen's age or older, with short, uneven hair dyed a strange blue color was standing, back to them. She dressed in leather, and she was pulling a short knife, covered in blood, out of the body of the woman from the photos, who slumped to the ground, her fluids spilling from her side and onto the beige rug, staining it and spreading slowly around it to soak beneath her bed. Red, the same color as the flames in the bedroom fireplace that flickered casually as if nothing had happened.

Temari gulped as she watched the blue-haired woman lean down and snatch a long, silver chain from the dead woman's neck, then throw it meaningfully into the fire and stand there with an air of confidence.

Their target was dead.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"I thought you said this thing wasn't hostile, you idiot!" Neji yelled furiously as he was dragged backwards through the cellar, arms scraping desperately against the floor, his ankles being held by two warty, wrinkled hands ascending from the darkness.

"I didn't know we were gonna piss it off, okay?! I guess this thing doesn't have a fucking temper control on it!" Shikamaru shouted, picking himself up from under a box that he'd been slammed into, beer staining his hair and jacket from smashed bottles, the glass littering the floor and glittering like diamonds in a fairy tale from the lights on their guns that the two desperately tried to hang on to. "God damn it!" He shot at the ghost, which disappeared and allowed Neji to slam into the ground.

"Where's that son of a bitch now?" Neji growled, clambering to his feet and rubbing his bleeding arms, pulling his sleeves down which had been pushed up to his upper-arms from the strain. Shikamaru had a large gash on the side of his forehead from a beer bottle, which bled and trickled down his jaw. He wiped that away and looked around.

"Dunno. Check the shadows." he said, voice lowering as he held his gun at the ready and the two walked over to each other and regained their breaths and composures.

Neji nodded, staring around. Everything seemed natural. His and Shikamaru's shadows were normal, the boxes were there, perfectly square…

He paused. One of them seemed unnaturally bulky. He frowned and shot at it. But right before the bullet could reach, the shadow receded to normal, and the wall exploded in a shower of dust and cement. Neji and Shikamaru coughed, covering their eyes and noses. Neji was suddenly very thankful the cellar was so far down and it was so loud above them, otherwise they would be in a _huge_ amount of trouble.

It was silent. Neji and Shikamaru, breathing heavily, stared around. This wasn't good, Neji realized. The dust was clouding their vision. It was almost as if the ghost had done it on…

"GAH!"

"Neji!"

Neji yelled out as he was slammed into the wall, and blood flew from his mouth, his stomach muscles contracting painfully. He knew he was going to have bruises on his back for months after this, he thought bitterly as he groaned and slumped to the ground helplessly, his gun spinning off to the side of the room. Shikamaru ran over, but all at once the ghost was there, and Shikamaru stopped and pointed his gun at it and fired.

The ghost, however, was quick, and it flitted around him and grabbed him by the shoulder. Shikamaru yelled out in surprise, then shouted, "Go to hell!" and shot at him one more time.

And this time, something _did_ react. The ghost suddenly paused, then it began to screech. His screams were so loud Shikamaru and Neji had to cover their ears. Shikamaru stumbled backwards out of the way as the ghost burst into flames, illuminating the room and relieving them of the light from their guns just for a second before dropping to the ground in melted ash, the faint smell of smoke, wax, and sulfur lingering behind.

Neji and Shikamaru stared for a while, their chests heaving. "What a son of a bitch." Shikamaru said, shaking his head as he panted. He glanced over at Neji as he rose slowly and felt his back, wincing. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Neji said gruffly. "You?"

"Yup." Shikamaru exhaled, straightening up. "Huh. Think the girls got it?"

"I dunno. It seems a little too quick, don't it?" Neji muttered, narrowing his eyes at the burnt spot on the ground where the ghost disappeared. "Usually it takes much longer than this."

"You're sayin' something seems wrong?" Shikamaru summarized for himself. Neji nodded. Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah. I feel it too."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

Temari stared at the silver melting slowly in the fire.

Silver. There was something about silver she could remember from what she'd read in her father's old books that was somehow connected to demons.

For now, she couldn't really remember anything well as the woman turned and smiled, her wide, heart-shaped face risen in a smile that was a little too friendly. TenTen looked utterly confused, while Temari felt a bit of a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as the woman spoke in a voice that settled in the base of her throat, slick and smooth and greased up for presentation.

"Hi Temari. It's been a while."

8

_**a/n:**_ Since I haven't updated this in…uh...a month. Ha-ha, I'm so sorry. I had exams to study and then a virus attacked my computer and I had to wipe my hard drive…But I'm Back In Black, and I'm ready to update this story more frequently than I have been! Promise. :)

IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED: In the story, the chapter titles are all going to be one word only, and they'll all have one, something to do with the chapter, and two, something to do with Neji and Shikamaru. Second off, in the story, the dialogue is going to be based off of real American dialogue, I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible. So of course, it's not going to be very grammatically correct. XD

By the way, if you like this, please check out my newer stories To Look Behind the Clouds and Time Sky. Clear descriptions of them are in my profile (which I have updated, in case you guys haven't noticed, to look much more professional and show much more information than I've been letting out recently). See you all later! :D

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	9. Sacrifice

equilibrium

9

_When there's nowhere else to run  
Is there room for one more son  
If you can hold on_

"Who are you?" was the first thing TenTen asked.

Temari resisted the urge to groan. She should have been expecting that. It was TenTen, and it was someone she didn't know. What else?

Temari, however, was loathing the sight of those familiar dark, beady eyes, the pretty heart-shaped face, high cheekbones risen in a smile that was a little _too_ friendly.

"Ami," Temari said darkly. "Nice to see you again."

Ami laughed, throwing her head to the side. "Ah, Temari, you're sweet. Unfortunately…" She turned back to the two with her eyes narrowed, a dangerous smirk on her face. "…you're also a bitch."

"Agh!"

Thick ropes dropped from the ceiling as Ami pulled, behind her, a rope hanging, hidden by her back, snapping around Temari and TenTen tightly and dragging them back to the wall, slamming them into the plaster.

Temari winced and recovered, glaring up at Ami as TenTen coughed. "Still trying to kill me, are you?" she asked as Ami pulled slowly from the back pocket of her black jeans a long, sharp, and dangerous-looking knife.

Ami shrugged, looking very relaxed as she glanced around the room, re-checking her trap, the ropes tied by clear plastic string all around the walls and ceiling. "You didn't think I'd give up, did you?"

"Temari?" TenTen hissed, giving her a look from her right.

Temari looked at her, an effort that pained her greatly as the ropes were digging into her neck and arms and breaking the skin, and she sighed. "She's a hunter. But a different one. She hunts half-demons."

"That's right," Ami said loudly. "Half-demon's like the one that killed my best friend."

"It's not _my_ fault," Temari said, facing Ami again with a frown. "If you want to kill a half-demon, then kill the one that murdered your friend! I didn't do anything, I've tried telling you this a million times!"

"Oh, I already did kill him," Ami said, running a long-nailed finger along the blade of her knife. "I killed him _twice_, actually. And I have every right to kill those that defy Jesus Christ."

"Cut out that crap," Temari growled. "I never did anything evil. And you're never going to kill me. You've tried so many times it's hard for me to remember. What makes you think you'll kill me now?"

Ami grinned mischievously. "Because all the other times, there was someone to stop me. This time, I've also trapped your companion." She nodded towards TenTen, who stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "This time…" Ami suddenly walked forward, black boots thumping on the carpet. "This time, no one's left to stop me…"

The knife suddenly lunged towards Temari's neck. Temari twitched.

"Eh, not quite."

Temari and TenTen's eyes widened as Shikamaru's fist suddenly swung down and slammed into Ami's head, throwing her to the side, rolling on the ground, the knife being flung to the other side of the room, spinning on its hilt.

"You guys okay?" Neji asked as Shikamaru gave a disgusted look to the dead young woman lying off to the side of the room, then to Ami struggling to her knees.

"Just in time," TenTen said, sighing and closing her eyes in relief as Neji knelt next to her and started working on the ropes.

"Actually, not really," Temari said, and she suddenly stood, the ropes around her dropping to the ground.

TenTen's mouth fell open. "_What_?! What the _hell_?! How long have you been able to do that?!"

"You'd be surprised what you can do when you can manipulate the air." Temari responded simply. She turned to Ami on the ground. "And would _you_ just give up already? For the last time, even though a half-demon killed your friend, it doesn't mean it's my fault! I never 'defied Christ' or whatever the hell you're talking about."

Ami looked up at her furiously, wiping her streaming eyes, watering from the pain Shikamaru's punch had created. "I'm not a killer, Temari. I don't want to murder every half-demon. I mean, sometimes they were born into it. Others, however, were not! Like _you_! And they're the ones that I hunt!" She clambered to her feet and pointed a long finger at Temari. "You are the Anti-Christ, Temari Subaku!"

"What are you talking about?" TenTen suddenly stood. Neji had apparently finally gotten her ropes loose, and she put her hands to her hips warily. "Temari was born into it."

Ami stared at TenTen, almost in confusion. Then, the expression spread to one of glee as she turned back to Temari, and suddenly she started laughing happily. "Oh! Oh, I get it! You haven't told them yet, have you?!" Temari said nothing, just gazed straight forward with no emotion on her face, ignoring the other three behind her who watched her, confused. Ami laughed even harder, bending over. "Oh, ho ho! This is great, this is just _perfect_! Have you been playing 'angel', Temari? How cute! Aha!" She cackled, closing her eyes.

And that's when Temari made her move.

She grabbed Ami's shoulders and thrust her fist into the woman's stomach. Ami flew away from her, the momentum slamming her body into the wall, causing a few paintings and photo frames to fall on top of her, crashing into the ground and knocking her unconscious.

Temari straightened up, breathing out a long exhale, and turned to look over her shoulder timidly at the others, who stared at her.

"What was she talking about?" TenTen asked finally, quietly. "Is there something you didn't tell us?"

Temari said nothing, her mind spinning; trying to make excuses, trying to figure out what she should do.

"Temari, you have to tell us." Shikamaru said suddenly.

Temari glanced back at him and cleared her throat silently. "Can…Can I tell you guys in the car?"

Neji nodded. "We have to get out of here anyway; the police will be here any minute. One dead body and an unconscious bitch won't look too good."

"What happened back at the hotel, though?"

"The silver necklace was what was keeping Nikko here. He's gone, now."

"We had to hurry our asses out of there real quick, the gun-shots were causing some people to be pretty suspicious, but don't worry we got your stuff."

"You didn't go through it, did you Shikamaru?"

"What the hell?! Of course not you idiot, and why not ask Neji too?"

"Because he'd never do something like that. Would you Neji?"

"Heh. She knows me well, Shikamaru. Same with you."

"I'm not a fucking pervert!"

The others' voices just rang uselessly in Temari's ears. As they walked through the abode, all she could think about was how she came to be this way.

_three years ago…_

_"Temari."_

_"Hey. Here you go." Temari, eighteen years old and a senior in High School slipped to a shady group of her classmates a small plastic bag of drugs, standing in the shadow of a small pharmacy across the street from her house. The sun was high in the sky, even though it was only March. Arizona's famous heat was rippling the air, and Temari wore a black tank over jeans to avoid any stress._

_"Thanks for holding it for us." A boy came forward and took it from Phoenix's favorite young woman. "You're awesome, Temari."_

_"Yeah, yeah. When are you gonna think about quitting?" Temari asked scornfully, eyeing the small group with distaste, which just laughed at her._

_"Hey, we only asked for a favor, not for you to tell us how to work our life. Here." He handed her a wad of dollar bills, and she took it in one hand to rifle through, the other one pulling her short blonde hair into a high, sloppy pony tail. As she did so she stretched her body, and some of the boys were looking her up and down hungrily._

_"Alright, looks like it's all there, I guess." Temari said, pocketing the cash. "Thanks for that, I needed it. See ya'll later."_

_"Hey, thanks! You're awesome, Temari!" one of the boys called back at her as she turned and walked away._

_Temari laughed a bit and shrugged. She emerged into the sunlight, and immediately she was greeted by cat-calls from young men driving past, which she either ignored or flicked off, and many people waving at her excitedly or gossiping great things about her. She briefly acknowledged them with a simple flash of her fingers. Her black stiletto boots peeking from underneath her jeans clacked on the cement._

_She was, for sure, Phoenix's favorite woman._

_And she barely recognized that fact, or else she barely cared._

_When she finally got home, she grinned and opened the door, her head peeking around the side of it almost sneakily. "Hey boys!" she said playfully, obviously in a very good mood._

_Kankerou and Gaara, her two younger brothers, sat in the sloppy living room. CD's lay everywhere, and loud rock music blasted from the speakers of an old dusty stereo system in the corner. The two were sitting at the sofa, the coffee table dragged over so their feet could rest on it, and their homework sat on their laps._

_They looked up, and Kankerou pouted almost too childishly. "Well it took ya long enough, Temari."_

_She rolled her eyes as she closed the door. "Yeah, yeah. What do you guys want for dinner?" she asked as she crossed the living room, taking care not to step on anything, especially her precious CD cases, into the kitchen._

_"Isn't it pasta night?" Kankerou called through the door as Temari looked through the cabinets._

_She grimaced. There wasn't enough in the kitchen to make practically anything at all. "Uh, how does ordering pizza sound?" she asked, swinging around the side of the opening to the kitchen and smiling sheepishly._

_Kankerou shrugged. "Yeah, whatever, sounds good. I'll have one with sausage, okay?"_

_"Mhm…" Temari said distractedly as she rifled through the cash she'd just acquired. "Gaara what do you want?"_

_Gaara looked up slowly. "I'm not exactly hungry, and I'm not feeling well, so nothing for me," he said in a voice that croaked just a bit. _

_Now that Temari noticed, he did look pale and sweaty. She narrowed her eyes, concerned, and grabbed a small card off the coffee table to dial the number to __**Tanya's Pizza**__ printed on it, fingers flying across her cell phone._

_As it rang in her ear, she walked over to Gaara and leaned down, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead, then his cheek._

_"__**Tanya's Pizza**__," a nasally female voice asked through the phone._

_Temari extracted her hand from Gaara's face quickly. He was burning up. "Um, yeah…"_

_As she ordered, she kept glancing at Gaara, worried. Kankerou watched her, and Gaara continued to complete his homework._

_"Thanks." Temari hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket, then turned to Gaara, hands on her hips. "Alright, buddy, get to bed."_

_"Wha-?!" He looked up at her, bewildered._

_"You have a freakish fever, you're sick," Temari remarked. "Go to bed. I'll get you a glass of OJ, that's supposed to up your immune system." She took a deep breath. "And…if it gets worse, I'll call a doctor."_

_"No!" Kankerou and Gaara both cried at the same time._

_Temari winced, although she'd expected that. It was almost an unspoken fact in their family; if she had to pay for a doctor, then since they had no Health Insurance even though they'd requested for welfare frequently she'd have to dig the money out of her college savings._

_"Temari, don't be an idiot, you don't have to throw everything away for us!"_

_As usual, the two were defensively stubborn. Temari watched as Gaara nodded and said, "We're not worth your future."_

_Temari narrowed her eyes, finding it ironic how wrong they were. "Get to bed, Gaara. Now. Kankerou, finish your homework."_

_"Yeah, whatever."_

_"Fine."_

_the next day…_

_"Temari."_

_It was going to rain soon. She could tell. As she opened the door to her house she glanced once more very warily over her shoulder at the sky. Dark for the time of day, piles of smoky clouds rolling around as if they were wrestling with each other. The wind was intense, and she found herself having trouble closing the door, slamming it shut and breathing out a long sigh of relief before turning to Kankerou._

_He greeted her with an urgently grim expression. "Come to the bedroom and look at Gaara."_

_Temari tilted her head to the side. Gaara had been told to stay home from school that morning to get better. She couldn't take any chances. And yet, it seemed like those chances had been thrown at her by force._

_"He's not better?" she asked softly, walking down the wooden hall to the boys' bedroom door, her brother two steps behind her._

_Kankerou shook his head. "I came home from school today and he didn't even wake up."_

_"He's been sleeping all day?" Temari opened the door slowly, quieting her voice to peek into the dark room. The light from the hallway flooded in and threw a golden streak across Gaara's face. He lay in bed, drenched in his own perspiration, his lips parted. Every breath he took caused his chest to rise unnaturally high and his throat to wheeze. Temari briefly pondered the idea of asthma before closing the door as silently as she could._

_Temari turned slowly to Kankerou, who watched her expectantly as she thought, a finger curled under her bottom lip._

_Finally, she closed her eyes. "I'm calling a doctor."_

_Kankerou stared at his rather large feet._

_"Fine."_

_one hour later…_

_"Temari."_

_Temari's head snapped up. She'd fallen asleep outside the bedroom door, sitting against the wall in the hallway. She stared at a young man in a white overcoat, wearing round glasses, his silver hair up in a pony tail; the doctor._

_She got to her feet quickly, dusting herself off and greeting the doctor apologetically as she straightened her hair and tried to wake herself up. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't notice you come in, I-"_

_"That's quite alright, don't worry about it. Your brother Kankerou let me in," the doctor said. He cleared his throat. "May I speak with you about something?"_

_Temari blinked. "…What? How's Gaara, is he going to be okay?"_

_The doctor's grim expression said it all. Temari's heart immediately began to hammer against her chest. But he still explained in a way that was almost off-topic. "I know I'm cheap, and I'm very new and inexperienced, but I assure you I'm professional, and I've studied these things. I've looked over Gaara as much as I can, and I've figured out the problem."_

_"W-Well, what is it? I know we can do something to get around it."_

_"Unfortunately, that's not the case," the doctor said softly. "You see, Kankerou informed me that he has been feeling down for the past couple weeks, it's only been accelerated today. D__ue to the fluid build-up that occurred during his sickness, his lungs are being filled with mucus during his sleep."_

_Temari stared. "How…is that happening…?"_

_"Well, __heart disorders can cause fluid to back up in the blood vessels that carry blood away from the lungs to the heart. As a result of pressure build-up in these veins, excess fluid leaks out into the alveoli. I read his records, apparently he has valvular heart disease, in which the, how you could say 'doors' in the heart's 'four chambers' function poorly."_

_"What's…this all mean? Is he going to be okay or not?" Temari demanded, starting to get impatient._

_The doctor closed his eyes. "Unfortunately there's nothing to stop it. If you want to get the mucus out of his lungs, you'd have to rip them apart, which would kill him. There's no way to save his life. I'm afraid your brother has barely an hour to survive."_

_Temari's heart now seemed to just stop. Her skin felt cold, and then numb, and then she could feel nothing at all as her head started seeming heavier than it should. The world spun; she was dizzy, she was nauseous. "No, you're..."_

_The doctor bowed his head respectfully. "I'm very sorry."_

_"N…No…" Temari's voice rose now as she snapped back into consciousness. "No, no, there's gotta be something you can do!"_

_Kankerou emerged in the bedroom door, observing silently the scene as Temari reverted to begging._

_"Please, I'll do anything, I'll __**pay**__ anything! Can't you do __**something**__?! Anything! Just give him a chance, I swear I'll make it worth your while! Please!"_

_"I'm sorry, there's nothing more I can do." The doctor sighed, checking his watch. "I think it's time I left. Contact 911 at least, they can bring your brother to a hospice." He turned to leave, then paused. "I'm really very sorry."_

_With that, he left. Temari couldn't move, yet again she felt stiff. She had never known what it was like to be paralyzed before. She had never even frozen in front of the demons and ghosts that followed her, just because she was her father's daughter, her father the demon that betrayed Hell and married a human. Even if she was a pure human herself, not a drop of evil blood in her._

_She heard Kankerou exhale slowly, breath quivering loudly. "Temari…You paid all that money for nothing…" he whispered finally._

_All she could do was shake her head as he retreated back into the bedroom and closed the door._

_Her mind clicked into place. She ran, out of the house and down the street, whipping out her cell phone and dialing the number she'd memorized long ago as she did so. The city was strangely empty. Probably because of the storm that threatened them gradually, the sound of thunder roaring in the distance. The stench of mud was carried on the wind that flung Temari's hair about her face. She pulled her hair into a sloppy pony tail as she ran and held the phone to her ear, listening to the ring tone._

_Finally it lifted and her mother's voice spoke on the other line._

_"__**Hello**__?"_

_"Mom?!"_

_There was a slight pause on the other end. "__**Temari…? Didn't I tell you not to call me during work hours?**__"_

_"No, mom, it's an emergency."_

_"__**I could care less, Temari. Listen, please just call me later, I'll-**__"_

_"No! Mom, I don't have enough time, it's Gaara!"_

_"__**Well what about him?**__"_

_Temari had to stop to catch her breath now. She was in the busier part of the city, and even there it was empty, her deep breaths echoing off the buildings. She waited at the curb of the road, leaning over, chest heaving, eyes glued to the street where she watched for cabs._

_"__**Temari! You're starting to scare me, what is it, really?!**__"_

_"Mom, h-he got sick, and I called a doctor-"_

_"__**You what?! Temari, no, no, did you take the money out of - Oh god, you complete idiot! Temari, how could you do that?! What were you thinking?!**__"_

_"Mom, I had to! It wasn't a lost cause! Mom, his heart disease, remember, he…" Temari swallowed the sob bubbling up in her throat. She did not cry. "Gaara's gonna die, mom."_

_Temari let the silence ring on the other end. The only sound was the wind screaming in her ear, her breaths heavy and sharp from running, the taps of the start of the rain that sprinkled down and dripped against the overhanging tarps of the corner shops and restaurants, all closed._

_"__**Then it was a lost cause after all. Wasn't it?**__"_

_Temari's mouth fell open at the cold last statement her mother gave her before she threw the sound of the phone clicking off through the receiver._

_The sounds of a mother's love that never was._

_Temari stared at her cell phone, standing there, her hair going limp as the rain accelerated. Pathetic. Hopeless. She was just about to use the last of her money to call a cab for __**this**__ woman…_

_"GOD DAMN IT!" she finally screamed, and she threw her phone against the sidewalk in fury, watching the screen crack, the top half break off of it. If it wasn't broken from that, it would be as she fled the sidewalks, leaving the thing that wasn't exactly waterproof to soak in the rain on the cement. Like an abandoned puppy._

_When she finally got home, her chest was burning and her lungs were sucking air in and out dramatically from running so much. She hadn't exactly taken a gym class, she wasn't used to it. The wind was so hard now it hurt. The rain slapped her bare shoulders and arms, cold, stinging her sensitive pale skin. The thunder shrieked down at her from the clouds. As if it was punishing her, she figured as she watched through the open window of the bedroom Kankerou staring down at their sleeping younger brother, one tear shining as it dripped down his cheek._

_She was going to cry. She was going to drop down, hug her knees, and sob her troubles out. But then, the first flash of lightning blinded her, white and dazzling, sparkling in her eyes, and she had made a decision._

_She moved as if she wasn't aware she was moving at all. Her legs walked of their own accord around the house, through the backyard, to the tool-shed, where she opened the door and walked inside. Her hands moved numbly around the stacks of boxes, through shovels and fence wire and light bulbs and finally she found in the back of a shelf, spiders and centipedes and earwigs scuttling out of the way, a black board covered by dust with a white design on it; the design of a Devil's Trap._

_She took it and walked back out. Her face was determined, and otherwise emotionless. She set the board on the ground and slipped, out of her jeans, a pocket knife. With that she got on one knee, held her pale arm above the board, and set the blade quivering against the skin. She prepared herself, and then, as if every motion was memorized, she sank the cool blade into her skin, letting out only a small whimper of pain and purposefully letting the blood overflow the wound and drip over her arm to plop into the middle of the Devil's Trap._

_It was time to make a deal._

_She didn't have to wait as long as she thought, in fact it was barely a second later that the lightning flashed again, thunder roaring, and the summoned demon stood in front of her._

_Temari looked up slowly. The shoes looked familiar. The white overcoat looked familiar. And then, her mouth fell open._

_"You…possessed the doctor…" she whispered in horror._

_She had seen demons before. They were black smoke in their original form, but they could possess a human's body, killing the human over time after pushing their souls out of the way and taking control of their bodies._

_The silver-haired doctor from before stood in front of her with a grin, his eyes now black and beady, glinting with the malice of Hell and the blood-thirst of a demon._

_"You summoned me here, sweetheart, you didn't tell me how to work my life," the demon said in the doctor's voice. He chuckled as he looked her over. "Temari Subaku," he said with the air of a long-waited life to say that name. "Look at you. I've heard a lot about you…in Hell." Temari gulped. "Daughter of the demon who turned to the human's like a kid hugging his momma's leg. Tough, smart, beautiful. And yet you crouch at my feet, drenched, bleeding pathetic, and…desperate." He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, then opened his eyes and laughed gleefully. It was like the sight of her was a drug. "I ought to kill you right here, right now."_

_Temari grit her teeth. All she saw was her brothers, and she took the risk she was willing to take. "But you won't," she said carefully._

_He paused, looking down at her interestedly._

_Temari continued. "You know that I can give you something," she said. "Something everyone in Hell wants."_

_"And that is?" he asked, eyeing her almost hungrily._

_"Half my soul to trade for a life."_

_Temari did not show emotion or fear. In fact her face was absolutely nothing besides stoic._

_But the demon cackled and held his hand out as a response, adrenaline and excitement causing him to even drool just a bit and his black eyes to shine._

_Temari took a deep breath, prepared herself, and grabbed his hand._

_He laughed aloud as he pulled her to his feet, a laugh that told her he never thought she'd do it, he didn't think she was serious, but he was oh-so-happy she was. She felt herself get more and more nervous._

_And then, there was a flash of white light, she couldn't tell this time if it was lightning, then the black smoke clouded her vision and she felt her body drop to the ground._

_"Thanks, Temari," she heard the demon call sarcastically, giggling madly as he faded away into the grey rain._

_She felt weak, she couldn't move. And yet at the same time she felt so powerful that she might destroy the world if she tapped a finger on the damp cool soil that she felt herself drown in._

_But she knew it was alright. She could hear through the thunder, through the rain, Kankerou cry, "Gaara?! You're…you're okay! God, man, what-?!"_

_"Temari…"_

_"Gaara, it's okay, you're gonna be fine."_

_"But Temari-"_

_"She's fine too," Kankerou insisted._

_"Fine."_

_three weeks later_

_Temari was used to it now._

_She was used to not having a pulse. She couldn't smell, or taste anymore. She didn't remember what it felt like. When she saw people, she saw them as if she was looking through a filter. All she could see was the bad things, even if she tried hard enough to see the good. Of course, she found ways around it. She could convince herself that they were good. She could remember what it was like to be a human._

_And now, she stared at her brothers, who sat in the living room finishing their homework. They were used to it as well. They'd gotten over their anger at her and taken the excuse that she did it for them. For Gaara. For Kankerou. For herself._

_Her mother knew, as well, but she refused to speak to Temari now. Temari didn't care. She didn't care about much anymore overall. She supposed it was another perk to being a half-demon._

_She watched her brothers and smiled, although it was a sad one._

_'__**It was worth it**__.'_

_"I love you guys…"_

_They looked up at her. She was trying not to cry._

_'__**It was so worth it…**__'_

_"What's wrong, Temari?" Kankerou asked, concerned._

_Temari calmed herself and stared at her feet. "I've been thinking…" she said. She looked up at them again. "Do you guys trust me?"_

_Kankerou stared at her, and sighed. "What kind of stupid question is that? Of course we trust you. You're our older sister. You've taken care of us when our mum wouldn't. We have no one else to trust."_

"_Even if I'm not a human? Do you trust me to take care of you? To keep you alive? Do you trust me to never talk behind your back and laugh at you? Do you trust me enough to cry into my shoulder when you need to?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Definitely."_

"_Why?"_

_They said nothing._

_Temari needed to know. She narrowed her eyes. "Why do you trust me? Kankerou, Gaara? Why does everyone trust me?"_

_Kankerou stared at her, then sighed. "Because you're the closest thing to someone that actually cares that we've ever had," he said._

_Gaara nodded._

_"You're all we've got."_

_present day…_

"So you basically lied to us when we first met you," TenTen said darkly.

Temari nodded. The story had taken a couple minutes to finally explain. Now as they drove a couple miles south everyone in the car was looking a little pissed off at her.

"I can't believe you." TenTen muttered, chomping on her seventh stick of gum as she opened a bag of candy. "You have any idea how mad it makes me when people lie to me?"

"Oh shut up, you would have done the same thing. I didn't know you guys, I didn't trust you," Temari snapped.

"Yeah, well, that's not our problem," Neji said bitterly. "Now we have someone who sold half her soul to a demon and lied to us sitting in the backseat of my car. I don't know if _we_ can trust _you_ now."

Temari looked away out the window and said nothing. The others didn't acknowledge her. She felt like she should have expected something like this…

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

That night Neji insisted he was way too tired to check out a hotel. Temari and Shikamaru complained, but TenTen threatened them very violently so they'd leave Neji alone, and they grumbled to a reluctant agreement. They camped out on the side of a long, empty highway. The night was cold, but Shikamaru said he'd wanted to go outside and look at the stars. To smoke. And to think.

Now, he lay on the edge of the road on an overturned, fallen tree, arms crossed behind his head, gazing at the sky and exhaling the smoke from the cigarette. Off to the side he could vaguely hear the sounds of the three others talking and laughing, listening to music and eating bags of chips for dinner in the parked car. Temari had obviously picked out the songs. She had good taste, he had to give her props.

As usual, his thoughts strayed to Asuma. Back to his old college days at Konoha Academy. Occasionally he'd email his friends on his cell phone, and he texted Chouji whenever he could. After all, Chouji _was_ his best friend.

_'Leaving hasn't changed anything._' Shikamaru thought. '_Chouji will always be my best friend. And Neji will always be my big brother…_'

He lay there for a while before he realized what he'd just thought. He turned to the side and sucked on his cigarette with a renewed viciousness. '_What the hell am I thinking? Am I some kind of idiot?_'

To distract himself from any stupid ideas like that again, he switched thoughts to college once more.

He used to do this with Asuma all the time, and sometimes Chouji and his one friend Sai, back in Konoha. The four would just lie outside in the middle of the football field, watching the stars. He didn't smoke then, and neither did Chouji, but Asuma and Sai did. The four men would just talk. About life, about schoolwork. They'd go on late into the night, Asuma carrying it on the entire time.

Shikamaru felt the end of the cigarette get damp in his mouth and he nibbled on it a bit. He'd never felt nostalgic before. He'd never _missed_ something before. Some_one_ before. He'd never thought about smoking before. Now, he felt as if it was the only way to remember Asuma.

Those times were gone and he knew it. There was no way to go back to them. He'd never see his friends again. He'd never lay there in the football field, the four of them talking and laughing and throwing grass at each other, arguing, drinking beer and playing cards, joking around…

As he lay on the cold log and observed the black smoke from his cigarette mixing with the winter fog of his breath dance in the chilly air above his head, he fell into the dark thoughts that surrounded him like a black shadow and screamed in his ear a reminder of the loss of Asuma, of friendship, of the life he could have had, his future, his career, his everything. The feelings of hope, comfort, care, and happiness.

It was so loud. So loud that a tear fell down his cheek as he squeezed his eyes shut and took a long shuddering breath.

Those feelings were gone, now.

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"My mom came downstairs and saw me trying to put out a fire with her bathrobe and started freaking out, and then she got a jug of water and it _finally_ went out."

Temari was cracking up as Neji chuckled, and TenTen grinned proudly, story of the time she caught the toaster oven on fire finished.

"That's hilarious. Your demon really hates you, doesn't it?" Temari asked, leaning back against the cool window of the car. The three were sitting in the Impala still, just talking. Temari was listening to music from her mp3 player now, as TenTen claimed the music playing from the speakers could attract unwanted attention. The clock read the time was 11:43 pm. She wasn't exactly tired, her insomniac tendencies were kicking in. But she was exhausted from the day of fighting and researching, and she yawned. "Hey Neji, what's Shikamaru doing up there?" she asked casually.

Neji looked up as he sat, turned around in the drivers seat to face them and helping himself to a bag of TenTen's candy that she held open for him. He sighed. "Probably thinking about Asuma," he said thoughtfully. He let TenTen throw a skittle in his mouth, testing her aim and grinning as she shot perfectly. "That's all he does, lately. Text Chouji and have nightmares about Asuma," he continued, voice muffled as he chewed slowly. "He blames it on himself for some reason, I think. He tries to let it out in some way, and since he can't kill whatever we're hunting yet, he kills himself."

TenTen frowned. "Why would he do that? It's not his fault, is it?"

Neji shook his head grimly and opened his mouth for TenTen to try and throw a starburst in. She missed and it landed in his hair, hanging in the bangs that weren't in the high ponytail he wore as usual but hanging over his face. "I don't know." He sighed, glancing at the clock and letting TenTen pick the starburst out of his hair carefully. Temari tried not to grimace, she was getting sick of their casual flirting as cute as it had been at first. "Either way, it's almost midnight. We have to get up early tomorrow to find another job and a hotel in the meantime, so we should probably get some sleep here." He turned to Temari as TenTen threw the Starburst out the window and closed the window again quickly to keep the warm air inside. "Wanna go get 'im?"

"I'll go!" TenTen volunteered immediately, eager to help Neji out.

"Aren't you too tired?" he asked.

"Yeah, its fine, I got it," Temari said. She exited the car and slammed the door shut, glancing around. She walked around the car and she finally saw him on the log off to the side of the fenced-off forest bordering the road. She laughed a bit as she watched the smoke swirling over his head, eyes closed.

She was about to call out to him, but she noticed something; a silver tear shining on his cheek.

She froze and stared at him. There was no doubt about it; he was crying.

She blinked and frowned, uneasy. He was motionless, but his attractive face was drawn in rather obvious grief. Temari lost her frown, and her heart immediately fell into pity. His father-figure had died recently. What else would he be doing?

She climbed up with him on the log carefully and kneeled next to his chest. He didn't notice her still, probably wrapped in his thoughts. She looked down at him as he exhaled, black smoke causing her to cough.

Hearing this, his eyes snapped open in surprise, and he sat straight up, glaring at her. "What?" he demanded immediately.

She said nothing, but she held a hand suddenly under his face, palm open to catch the tear the fell off his cheek.

He blinked and stared at her hand before turning away. "Would you beat it?" he muttered. His voice was shaky.

"You're thinking about Asuma, aren't you?"

"Just shut it, you never knew him. You don't have a right to…just shut up." Temari gave him a sharp slap in the arm, and he glowered, rubbing it. "Alright, alright! Yeah, I'm crying over Asuma! Big deal, I know, I'm sorry your inexperienced eyes can't handle it!"

Temari pulled a headphone out of one ear to pay more attention. "I'm not gonna make fun of you. You didn't make fun of me." Shikamaru said nothing as he rested his hands on his folded knees. "You know…" Temari continued. "You're kinda being a hypocrite."

Shikamaru glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You said it's okay to cry."

His eyes widened. Temari's face was expressionless, but at the same time hid some sort of meaning. He stared at her for a while, then he looked away. "I don't…" He sighed. "I don't hang on to this kinda stuff. I mean, my mom and dad, I never got to see them when I moved into High School. I didn't care. And I sure as Hell wouldn't have nightmares about a month after their deaths, sad as I would be. And the thing is…" Shikamaru closed his eyes and lifted the cigarette to his lips again. "I…I don't think I'm only having nightmares about Asuma. I have a feeling that something's happening because of me."

Temari smirked a bit. 'Idiot. Everyone feels like that. Relax. You gotta-"

"Metallica?"

Temari blinked. Shikamaru looked completely serious. "That was random…"

"Are you listening to Metallica? I can hear it from here."

"Um…" Temari watched him. "Yeah, it's Metallica."

He tilted his head to the side. "Didn't mean to interrupt your inspirational speech. I was just wondering."

Temari laughed, unable to help herself. "Weirdo."

"You're the one trying to butter me up. Don't get all campy on me," he said with a smirk that matched hers.

She stared at him. He lay on his back again and stared at the sky, seeming a little more comfortable.

"Wanna listen?"

He looked up at her, then grinned and patted the log next to him. "O'course."

She smiled and lay down on her back next to him, handing him an ear bud.

They stayed there just looking at the clouds for a while, listening to their music, Shikamaru smoking again but the two saying nothing.

Finally, Temari looked sideways at him. "Hey, if you ever wanna cry, just tell me, we can listen to music. It always helps."

He looked at her and laughed. "Yeah, I will. I mean, no one else would ever offer that." He turned to look up once more. "You're all I've got."

Temari stared at him, then turned as well, to look at the moon, frowning. "Crybaby."

"You pain in the ass…"

They were both grinning, though, as they insulted each other and talked about Metallica and AC/DC and The Killers. To Shikamaru, those feelings weren't gone after all. To Temari, she had one more person to care about.

_"Why do you trust me? Why does everyone trust me?"_

_"Because you're the closest thing to someone that actually cares that we've ever had."_

_"You're all we've got."_

9

_**disclaimer:**_I do not own _Naruto_, _Supernatural_, or _Tanya's Pizza_.  
_**new song:**__All These Things That I Have Done_ by _The Killers_.  
_**warning: **_Any negative remarks regarding religion _will_ be marked as _abuse_.  
This is explained in the _A/N_ in _Chapter 3_ _(Curse)_ of this story.

_**a/n: **_Look! Background stories! Don't worry, Neji and TenTen will have larger parts later on. This chapter was Temari and Shikamaru centric. And also, a lot of people have been wondering; yes, all the characters in Naruto will show up some way or another. Most of them, however, will be killed off. –laughs guiltily- :) In case you haven't noticed, all the songs for this story are classic rock songs. An ode to Shikamaru and Temari's obsession. :D

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	10. Fear

equilibrium

10

_I wanna stand up, I wanna let go  
You know, no you don't  
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men  
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand_

Neji wondered one morning, two days later to be exact, if Shikamaru was stone cold drunk.

"What?" he asked, staring incredulously at the young man that lay on his back in one of the beds in the small hotel room, his hair still down and finally getting dry after a shower and dressed in fresh clothes, which were just a leather jacket over jeans. That was the best outfit to wear in this kind of job. It was professional when it needed to be, casual, and didn't tear. In Neji's world, it was perfect. They'd finally check out a hotel room in western Utah, and were currently looking for another job close by, although they were fully aware they couldn't stay in one place for too long with their fake ID's.

"You heard me," Shikamaru said. Neji sat down on the other bed and shook his head despairingly, pulling his long hair into a high pony tail to keep it out of his eyes and only letting his bangs drop down. He was thankful Temari and TenTen had already left to do the shopping for them, the question disturbed him.

"Why would you ask me something like that, man?" Neji asked exasperatedly. "You know, all you're doing is makin' me question your sanity."

"Where'd you learn those big words, Mr. Dropout? The dictionary? How cute."

"Okay, screw you toda-"

"Alright, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Shikamaru said quickly. "I'm just wondering. I mean, no one in this job seems to be hooked up with anyone."

Neji sighed. "You know why." He looked up at Shikamaru, tightening the band on his hair. "Romance gets in the way of everything in this job. Not only can you not trust anyone, but always worrying over someone, always trying to protect them…Not to mention the fact that they could be used for ransom, they'd be the perfect bait for someone or something to get to you."

Shikamaru nodded at the ceiling. "Yeah…I thought so…" he muttered.

Neji watched as he rose to a sitting position and began to pull his own hair back. "Why are you suddenly so interested?" he asked.

Shikamaru eyed him. "You're probably gonna get all touchy with me when I tell you…"

Neji shrugged. "Try."

"Well…" Shikamaru sighed, tightening his hair and sitting up. "Are you and TenTen…?"

Neji's eyes widened. "…What…?"

"I dunno, man, it just seems like the two of you are – like – clicking." He raised his hands defensively. "Don't hit me, I was just saying…"

Neji rolled his eyes, although uneasily. "You're an idiot."

"An idiot who graduated High School and went to college, unlike-"

"Don't you fucking test me, dude."

"Yeah, I'm gonna shut up now." Shikamaru dragged his legs over the side of the bed, facing his friend. "But you're not denying it, Neji."

Neji tried to shove a disgusted face Shikamaru's way. "She's eighteen."

"Only two years younger than you."

"You don't know what you're talking about, alright?"

"You know you can talk to me about this kinda shit, alright? I'm all ears."

"For _nothing_."

"Come on, Neji, she'll do _any-thing-for-you_. _Take the hint_."

"What hint?!"

"Well, sexually-"

"You're fucking sick! You're _twisted_!"

"Okay, I'll stray from that path, let's see…Well, she's always _complimenting_ you! I mean, it's obvious she's obsessed with-"

"She's not _obsessed_ with anyone, alright?!"

Shikamaru saw Neji was starting to reach his limit and shrugged, unconvinced but saying nothing more.

muirbiliuqe

It was about noon when TenTen, swallowing a handful of Sweet Tarts, jumped to her feet and pointed excitedly at the computer screen, drawing the attention of Temari and Shikamaru, lying on their backs on the same bed and listening through Temari's mp3 player while throwing furious insults the other's way and chattering mindlessly about _Boston_, and Neji, reading through some spiritualistic book of symbols. However, she said nothing, still swallowing her candy, and as Shikamaru and Temari sat up wordlessly, she gulped, coughing a bit and gasping for air, then cried, "I got it!"

"…Good for you…?" Temari said uncertainly.

"No, I have a trail!"

"I was right, you are a puppy," Shikamaru said, pulling an ear bud out and stretching groggily.

"In Shikamaru-language, that means 'What are you talking about?', TenTen," Neji said loudly, earning a frown from the tired man.

"Okay, okay, listen." TenTen sat back down, placing a hand a little too violently on the computer screen. "Remember that guy Nikko's 'great aunt'?"

"Tanya, right?" Temari guessed.

Shikamaru scoffed. "No, it was Terra."

"I thought it was Tess," Neji said with a shrug.

"Tsunade!" TenTen cried exasperatedly. She paused. "But that was a good guess, Neji." Temari and Shikamaru both groaned as Neji smirked their way. She turned back to Shikamaru's laptop. "Guess what article I just found while browsing for a job."

"Oh, you've found a way to get a cheap boob job? Congrats, TenTen," Temari said with a huge smile.

TenTen promptly threw an unopened bag of candy at her and let her struggle with it as she read directly from the article on the screen. "Winner of the lottery, Tsunade, declared 'Hokage' of the year."

"…Pfft…'Hoe'-kage…" Shikamaru muttered under his breath, and Neji gave a short, coughing laugh before they each got over their immaturity, only because Temari gave them both a threatening glare. "So, that Tsunade chick is a…Hokage, now. Big deal," he continued.

"Hokage means biggest lottery winner of the year," TenTen said, frowning. "You guys don't keep up with culture, do you?"

"I was working the whole time, trying to raise _two teenage boys on my own_," Temari said darkly.

"Trying to make a living in college," Shikamaru said simply.

Neji cleared his throat. "Er…killing ghosts…"

TenTen sighed. "Never mind. The point is, we now understand where she _is_!"

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, then straightened up interestedly. "You have a point," he said, scratching his nose thoughtfully. "She has something to do with…well, something supernatural. I guess we'll have to check her out." He sighed and lay down on his back, pulling out a cigarette and lighter. "So? Where is she?"

"Last she was spotted was in…" TenTen's eyes widened. "Wow. She's in Salt Lake City, Utah! That's north of here, but hey, it's in the same state!"

Neji seemed shocked as Shikamaru lit his cigarette and stuck it in his mouth thoughtfully. "She moves fast."

"Weird," Shikamaru said, biting the end of the cigarette to keep it in his mouth as both hands stuck the lighter back into his pocket. He lifted it once more from his lips after inhaling and let out a long black breath into the air above his head. "It's like _she's_ the one following _us_, huh?"

"Yup. And it gets better," TenTen said. She read directly from the article. "_When asked where she was planning on going next, she replied ecstatically that she was using some of the money to take a small vacation in __**Denver, Colorado**__."_

Neji grinned. "Perfect! We've got a main road that goes straight there if we move a little north."

"So that's our job?" Temari asked bluntly. "Looking for some lady that we think _might_ have something to do with demons?"

"Anything that gives us a hint about where the thing that killed Asuma will work," Shikamaru said simply. "We can't afford any regrets."

"Why don't you ask your dad for help, then?" Temari insisted. "Call him, ask people about him!"

"We've already tried that," Neji said darkly. "He won't answer his cell phone, all his friends and allies and people that he's met or gone through have nothing for us."

"We've left him a ton o' messages. Nothing works," Shikamaru added. "It's pointless to keep looking for him, I think. I'm sure he's fine, because he's changed his message to direct callers to call Neji's phone, and if his answering machine's still working, it's obvious his cell phone's still _on_ and _working_. But there's no sign about _where_ he is, and that's good enough of a reason for me to forget it. We're just on the trail of demons and ghosts and other freaks, and each one will get us closer to whatever killed Asuma."

"Is that all you guys can think about?" Temari demanded, starting to get a little frustrated with them. "Revenge? Isn't that sort of stupid?"

"Nope," Shikamaru said. "I used to wonder why the hell Neji and dad were still so obsessed with their hunt. I mean, yeah, it was sad that Hizashi died, but to hang onto that hate for so long seemed stupid." He took a long drag of his cigarette. "Now, I understand. You can't…forget about things like that."

Neji glanced once at Shikamaru, then down at his knees. "Any way…" he said awkwardly. "We should probably get going on moving to Denver if we want a head start on this Tsunade."

TenTen sighed moodily. "Packing time…!" she sang glumly.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

_**"Shikamaru…?"**_

_**"He's going to die. Get any closer, I'll kill him."**_

_"Who are you?"_

_**"I'll kill Neji. I'll kill your brother, right in front of your eyes. Slice his throat up, rip his heart out, snap his ribs in half, tear his arms off."**_

_"No way that's gonna happen. I'll kill anyone that gets close to hurting him, you hear me?"_

_**"You think so?"**_

_**"Shikamaru! Who is that?!"**_

_"Neji…?"_

_**"I'll kill him, you know. He's your brother. Why are you doing this to him, hmm?"**_

_"He's not my brother."_

_**"He's good enough, right? You admit it to yourself every day."**_

_**"Shikamaru?!"**_

_"Get lost."_

_**"Me? Neji? Which one do you want gone, Shikamaru?"**_

_**"Shikamaru!"**_

_**"You want him to live? Then stay away from him. You saw what happened to Hizashi. You saw what happened to Asuma. It's your family, Shikamaru. It's your fault. You have to pay the price, one way or another. Either isolate yourself, or watch those you care about most die. It's your decision."**_

_"Is that why dad…?"_

_**"It's blood. It's Neji's blood. Does it taste good, Shikamaru, in your mouth? Do you like the feeling of his skin under your fingernails? Do you love killing your brother?"**_

_**"Shikamaru, stop! Just…stop, don't get any closer to me! Fine, I'm not your brother! Don't kill me, just go away, leave me alone, GET OUT!"**_

"Oi!"

Shikamaru sat straight up, chest heaving. He felt perspiration fall into his eyes and he blinked repeatedly, wincing at the light, dragging a hand across his forehead. They were parked in lot as he sat in the passenger seat of the Impala, the sun blinding.

He turned to look at Neji, then heaved a sigh. "Why'd you let me fall asleep?" he muttered.

"Cause I'm an awesome friend," Neji responded simply. He glanced out the window, but then turned back to him. "So what did you dream about?"

Shikamaru just leaned his head against the window, exhausted. "Lollipops and candy canes."

Neji laughed darkly. "Come on, we're gonna get some breakfast, the other two are already inside. I told em I'd wake you up."

"But really you were just enjoying the show, huh?" Neji said nothing, and Shikamaru lifted his head off the window. "What was I saying?"

"The usual. 'Get out, leave me alone, you're not real…'" Neji paused. "'Asuma…'." Shikamaru closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window again. "It got a little…bad," Neji said quietly. "So I decided I might as well wake you up before you start crying again. It only just started, though, so it wasn't that long before…"

Shikamaru looked out the window of the car at the parking lot, wide and paved and black. They were pulled up to a small Denny's. He laughed. "Of course." He opened the door, wiping his face to make sure there were no tears on his face. He was alright, and he checked his reflection in the window. Pale, but otherwise the same. He sighed, clearing his thoughts, and turned to Neji, who was crossing around the car and watching him closely. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks…" he muttered as they began to walk side by side towards the restaurant.

"Yeah," was all he said in response. As they walked, he chuckled grimly. "You know, it seems to get worse each time. Does it…hurt at all, your dreams?"

Shikamaru glanced sideways at him. "My head hurts…"

Neji nodded, but said nothing and opened the door, letting the two of them in. They found themselves immediately waved over by TenTen, next to Temari, in a booth, Temari sipping a coffee and TenTen with…a Pepsi.

"Drinking that in the morning?" Shikamaru asked, sliding in to sit across from TenTen, Neji sitting next to him across from Temari.

"Mhm," TenTen said with a smile. "I need something bubbly to start me off, right?"

"Don't worry, the waitress was freaked too," Temari said calmly to the men, knocking a fist gently against the side of her younger friend's head, who glowered sideways at her.

Shikamaru noticed his laptop open on the table in front of TenTen. Back at college, he wouldn't have let so many people even _touch_ his laptop. Even now he was careful about what they did with it. But he was beginning to realize that it was getting to be their personal source of information, since Neji's laptop was old, given to him from Shikamaru's father, and the internet wasn't as fast as Shikamaru's. "What are you looking up?" he asked her.

"Ah, just some local legends," TenTen said, taking a gulp of her soda. Swallowing, she said, "It might help us if we find something in the future to know what we're dealing with."

"Smart," Shikamaru said with a smirk. "You think like me. Unlike this idiot." He jabbed his thumb at Neji, who glared at him.

"So what took you two back there?" Temari asked suddenly. For some reason she was watching Shikamaru closely, who completely ignored her.

"Nothing, he takes forever to wake up," Neji said simply. Shikamaru glanced once at him. Neji didn't flinch at all, and Shikamaru turned back to grab TenTen's menu and look through it.

Neji suddenly stiffened noticeably next to him. Shikamaru glanced sideways at him and raised an eyebrow, and Neji pointed to the menu. "U-Um…"

Shikamaru looked down at the menu and blinked. A small spider hung from a very thin thread, dangling in a squirming black ball, one leg stretching out and tentatively poking the air. Shikamaru turned to Neji again, then he made a small noise of understanding. "Oh! Whoops, sorry man." He grabbed a napkin from the center of the table and promptly squished the poor creature before dropping the destroyed remains wrapped in the crumpled napkin on the ground in the middle of the hall for the janitor to take care of.

"What's your issue?" Temari asked as Neji gave a huge sigh of relief, resting his elbow on the table and his forehead in his hand.

"Neji's terrified of bugs."

Temari and TenTen stared between the two young men as Neji hid his face in the hand now and Shikamaru calmly flipped through the menu.

"You're…Y-You're kidding…"

Shikamaru looked over his menu to see Temari snickering behind her hands. TenTen frowned and slapped Temari on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Neji, I hate bugs too!"

"You, the demon-hunter?! Bwa!" Temari burst out laughing obnoxiously, and heads turned.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's not like some mother's fear, Temari," he said as she calmed herself, grinning. "It's a genetic phobia."

"What?" Temari asked as she stopped, tilting her head to the side. "What's that?"

"Oh! That's what it is!" TenTen smiled as Neji kept hiding his face. "Then it's _nothing to be ashamed of_," she said loudly.

"Yes it is…" Neji mumbled.

"Wait, wait, explain, okay?! I didn't go to college, you need to help me out here!" Temari snapped.

Shikamaru set the menu down patiently. "A genetic fear is a code in your DNA that causes your body and mind to react negatively to something simple. Neji's father had the same thing, so it's obviously hereditary. Unlike most fears, such as the dark, heights, weather, and a woman's irrational fear of spiders, Neji's fear is uncontrollable, and his reaction makes it hard for him to deal."

"Oh. Heh, you sound like a textbook."

"I graduated High School, I'm top in my class at college. What do you expect?"

"True, true." Temari put her chin in her hands. "Wonder if I have one o' those…hereditary fears."

"You probably do. Most people have one or more, but most of the time it's a fear of something stupid and uncommon."

"Mine's stupid and uncommon," Neji muttered, seeming depressed as he folded his head in his arms.

Shikamaru rubbed Neji's back consolingly, still looking through the menu distractedly. "Spiders aren't uncommon, they're everywhere. But yes, it is stupid."

Neji moaned, and Shikamaru patted his head once before setting the menu down and stretching. Temari laughed a bit, and TenTen frowned pityingly and put a hand on top of Neji's head in an effort to consol him. Shikamaru smirked as he glanced down at him. "It's alright, man, you'll get over it. Spider-man can change your mind."

"Oh shut the hell up."

_equilibrium_ xxxx

The next morning when Neji woke up, he knew something was wrong.

He was always the first up, used to traveling around different time zones and driving nights awake across the country. The others, he saw, were asleep next to him. Significantly, they weren't in the hotel room they'd checked out. And Neji hadn't remembered falling asleep in the first place. In fact, all he could remember was all four of them checking out a room, walking into it, closing the door, and…that was it.

Neji closed his eyes tightly, clearing his mind and calming himself, and opened them again to stare around at their surroundings.

Was he dreaming…?

It was a clear field. Completely empty except for the sun, the trees, the grass, a few bushes, and a sparkling pond. And them. It was humid and pleasant-feeling, and a lukewarm breeze ruffled the soft weed beneath their bodies. The field was cut off in a circle around them by impossibly steep mountains on one side and a thick forest on the other. It reminded Neji of horror stories, where they had to choose one way or the other, both ways hard to maneuver. The sky was blue, and completely void of clouds, smog, or anything for that matter besides the sun, unnaturally perfect.

Neji thought, for just a second, that maybe he'd finally died and that he had been mistaken; there really _was_ a heaven.

But then he turned to see the other three lying on their sides on the ground, and the thought was shaken out of his head as he observed them. They slept, all, like him, dressed in the clothes they'd been in that morning.

No, not sleeping.

Unconscious.

They were in positions on the ground that they'd be in if they'd been walking and collapsed to the ground. And that's exactly what had happened.

Neji felt himself grow more and more troubled, and he inhaled deeply. When an alien and disturbing scent filled his nostrils, he coughed, wrinkling his nose. He knew that smell.

"Damn witches…" he said darkly, reaching out to knock against Shikamaru's head. But he froze, seeing his younger friend's face.

It was drawn in pain, in grief, and he was panting, fingers curling into shaking fists as he recoiled in a bit on himself, perspiration beading on the bridge of his nose.

"Nn…!" he mumbled, gritting his teeth.

Neji stared at him, and felt pity in his heart. '_There's no doubt now…_' he thought as he watched him groan.

'_He's seeing Hell…just like his dad…_'

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

_**"Shikamaru."**_

_"…Again…?"_

_**"Your choice has to be made soon. Or else."**_

_"Or else what?"_

_**"You know what. It's either you, or Neji."**_

_"I don't what you're talking about. When did I fall asleep?"_

_**"You didn't."**_

_"I can't see anything."_

_**"Of course you can't. All you need to do is listen to my voice."**_

_"Are you the one that killed Asuma?"_

_**"Yes."**_

"Shikamaru."

Shikamaru opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was Neji, and the sad look in his eyes. "Hey."

Shikamaru immediately moaned, rolling over onto his back in the grass and shading his eyes with his arm, as a cover to feel for tears. He wasn't crying, good. To make it more convincing that he was alright he said, as casually as he could, "Damn, I feel wasted…" He did, though. His other arm was shaking, and he slipped it beneath his back to hide that fact. He couldn't let any one of them see him like this.

'_Was he telling the truth? Who was it…?_' he thought distractedly.

'_And how do I find him?_'

He pulled his arm away from his face and got himself adjusted to the light.

"Mm?" TenTen woke next, blinking and sitting up straight. She stared around, confused, then looked to Neji. "Where are we?"

Neji shrugged as he pushed Shikamaru impatiently upwards. "I have no clue…"

"Was' goin' on?" Shikamaru mumbled, glancing around groggily. He observed the field and felt himself get a little worried, then he sniffed and frowned at the disgusting scent. "Aw sick, dude." He looked up at Neji. "So we're in a warp hole, huh?"

"A what?" TenTen was already on her feet, taking in the scenery distractedly.

"Smell the sulfur?" Shikamaru asked. "Supernatural beings always leave behind sulfur, or at least the smell. It means a witch stuck us in a warp hole."

"Whoa, what the hell, seriously?"

They hadn't noticed Temari waking up, and they all turned to stare at her, pulling herself to her feet and putting her hands on her hips. "This sucks, I had a beer in there I wanted. It's gonna get too cold, an' I don't like cold beer."

"Don't worry, we're still in the hotel room," Shikamaru said, standing with Neji. "We're lying on the floor right where we were just lying before. We're in a figment of our own imagination right now, combined." Shikamaru stared at the forest, then the mountains, then back to the forest. "Let's go that way…"

"Wait, what?" Temari asked. "We're…in a warp hole, but we're not…?"

Shikamaru turned to her, she obviously didn't get it, and neither did TenTen. Well, they'd never been stuck in something like this before. "Okay, how about this; we're dreaming, but whatever injuries we get here will happen to our real bodies back in the hotel room. It looks like Tsunade's a witch, and she knew we were on to her, so she gave our hotel room a little spell."

"So we can't let ourselves get injured, huh?" Temari asked, turning around.

"Well we can, but not more than we wouldn't survive with in real life. Just be as careful as if you're in your real body," Neji said.

"Why can we feel, though?" TenTen asked.

"It's a spell," Shikamaru said. "Logic doesn't reason with witches. Which is why I hate the whores, so let's _move_."

"Impatient much?" TenTen grumbled as they followed him.

Shikamaru ignored her as he walked in the lead, but he _was_ impatient. And only because he was worried this might not be the witch's work. Neji wasn't saying much. Shikamaru realized he was probably just as suspicious…

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

They'd been walking for a while in the forest, which was thick, and hard to walk through (they found themselves tripping over roots and trees and bushes, although animals were nowhere to be seen), before TenTen was the first to spot the house.

A tall, white building, it stretched wide and hollow through the clearing they stumbled into. It was just…there. Literally out of nowhere, and it seemed to Temari as she plucked a thorn from her shoulder that it was as if they'd stumbled across another warp hole. In fact, now that she thought about it, she didn't remember that tree stump. Or that bush…

"Shikamaru…" The man turned around from the building to give her his attention. "Look around," she said. "Did we…get in another one?"

He blinked and glanced around. As he looked, his face slowly spread to frustration. "Damn it! Neji, we walked right into it!"

"What?"

"Look at that! That tree wasn't there before. The temperature dropped just a bit. And didn't this seem to, I dunno, pop up?"

"You're right," TenTen said, frowning. "Damn! Why didn't we see it coming?!"

"There's probably spells all over the place," Shikamaru said, frowning. "Even in our imagination we can be tricked."

"Think the house is a trap?" Temari asked, glancing at it.

Neji crossed his arms, looking up at it. "Probably. Which is why we're going in."

"What?!" Temari asked, bewildered. "We're gonna walk into another trap?"

"Yes, because it might give us a clue to how we'll get out," Neji said. "Or who's doing this."

"Isn't there a short cut?" Temari grumbled as they started walking up to the house. Their feet crunched on the soil, dried by the sun, which suddenly seemed a bit dimmer, the sky just a tad less blue. She glanced over her shoulder. Suddenly the forest they'd emerged out of seemed a little less thick, surrounding the clearing in a circle of trees and bushes and plants.

"This _is_ the shortcut," Neji said. "The other alternative is just living till the witch runs out of energy."

"So that's it, then?" TenTen asked. "Kill or be killed?"

"That's the whole point of hunting," Shikamaru said as they crossed up to the wide porch, the ceiling above held by thin wooden pillars. Temari felt uncertain walking along the porch, the wood beneath them shook and she felt like she was going to fall any second. The place was old, and as she glanced in the empty, glass-less windows, completely void of any furniture or inhabitants, just two stories high, she crossed her arms to give herself a bit more of a safe feeling.

"Alright, this door should be easy to open." Temari turned to watch Shikamaru backing away and examining it, and she sighed.

"You're going to waste your time picking the lock?"

He smirked unexpectedly. "Nope." All at once Neji slammed into the thin wood of the door, which opened with a bang, part of it's hinges coming off. Temari and TenTen stared, mouths agape, as the two older men walked right on in as if it was their home, Shikamaru's arms crossed behind his head, tongue stuck in the side of his cheek, and Neji's hands in his pockets. They were like two teenagers at a club, like nothing had happened.

Temari followed, pulling TenTen along by the elbow and shaking her head exasperatedly. She wondered about them. They were raised the same, in such a reckless, manner-less way. She couldn't help but think; did they ever just spend time as a family with Shikato? Maybe sit down and talk about grades, or sit around a table eating dinner? They'd probably never eaten dinner at a table before, now that she thought about it as she stepped inside the house cautiously with TenTen, looking around at the empty, wooden room. Their only parental guardian had probably never worried about their schoolwork.

'_All they think about,_' Temari realized, staring at the two young men shoving each other a bit as they walked across the room, laughing and grinning, '_, is killing…_'

"…Uh…!" Neji suddenly said. Temari and TenTen caught up to him, wondering what kind of word that was supposed to mean, before Shikamaru noticed, hanging from the ceiling on it's thin woven thread, a spider, dangling exactly in front of Neji.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as Neji turned on his heel to face the other direction, staring at the ground. "Oh! Here." Shikamaru waved his hand so it caught the thread, and he reached out as the spider retracted itself on the thread, to tap Neji on the shoulder. He paused though, glancing down at the spider hanging, then to Neji, turned around and staring determinedly at his shoes. He grinned. "You're clear."

Neji turned around, and he made a strangled noise when Shikamaru held the spider in front of his face. Shikamaru laughed at his expression, dropping the spider and stomping on it, patting Neji consolingly on the back. "Haha! Ah, I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself! Aha ha ha…!"

"Aw fuck you!" Neji moaned, slamming a fist into his friend's stomach, who recoiled but kept laughing, coughing a bit at the strain.

"Oh god, I know I deserved that, but that was hilarious! I'm sorry, I really am, okay? Last time, okay? Last time, haha!"

"You're so immature," TenTen snapped as she comforted Neji.

Shikamaru sighed, calming himself with a grin. "Coming from you, that's something! Alright, let's get-"

They all stopped in their tracks before they could reach the door in the tall wall. They were standing in front of about seventeen more spiders, all the same as the first, that had dropped down on their threads at the same time, wiggling in front of them in little black balls.

Neji had to turn around again.

"…Whoa…" Shikamaru broke the silence.

"What the hell…?" TenTen asked, backing away. "What's going on…?"

"Sick…" Temari hissed at the offending creature suddenly crawling on her shoe; another spider.

"I'm beginning to think this 'aint no house…" Shikamaru muttered, glancing around.

"Ya think?" Temari snapped.

"You got us in a trap, Shikamaru!" TenTen complained a she patted Neji's back, who was closing his eyes as if pretending he wasn't there.

"Hey, it's better than walking through the woods while this is happening," Shikamaru retorted. "You'd be tripping all over yourself! Here, at least there's flat ground!"

"You've got a point, but where are we supposed to go?" Temari asked, glaring at the spiders that still clung to their webs, rotating, shaking violently.

"Upstairs," Neji suddenly spoke up. His voice was strained, but he was controlling himself.

Shikamaru nodded. "What he said. Looks like this floor is pretty much empty. The second story's usually where you find the operating system." He glanced at Neji. "Can you go on, man?"

"Shut up," Neji growled, turning around defiantly. "I fight my worst fears every day, I can-!"

"There's a spider on your shoulder, dude."

"_Fucking shit!_"

Shikamaru coughed, obviously to stop himself from laughing, as TenTen plucked it off quickly for him and let it drop, stomping on it quickly and smiling at him as he groaned and hid his face with his arm.

"Let's just get this over with."

"Um…" Temari suddenly said. Everyone stared as she pointed to the ground, and they all looked down.

Neji groaned even louder.

Ants, an entire swarm of them, poured from the walls and onto the floor, and soon enough they were standing in a flash flood of the creatures that spread underneath the walls and the door, squirming around, suffocating and killing each other in a giant black mass of brainless insects.

"Ack!" TenTen screeched, jumping up and down in vain.

"Aw sick!" Temari cried, lifting a foot and grimacing as a couple squished ants fell off in crumpled balls to the ground to be joined by their brothers.

Neji, meanwhile, was trying not to suffocate, bracing himself with one hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and hiding his face in his hand.

"This is…like, unreal," Shikamaru said, eyes wide, staring around at the ground as he shifted in his stepping. He breathed out. "Well bugs can't stop us, we'll just kill em. Come on, let's move."

"Oh you can't be serious," Neji moaned. Suddenly, a gigantic spider fell from the ceiling. It was the size of Neji's hand, large and black, twirling around dangerously on a very thick thread of web, legs spreading wide in front of Neji's face and dancing in the air crazily.

Neji paled and stumbled back, eyes huge, and he seemed paralyzed now, unable to speak, his hands shaking.

"Holy shit…" Shikamaru said, staring at it before, walking over and slashing a hand above the struggling creature, successfully cutting its thread and letting it drop to the ground. He raised an eyebrow almost uncertainly and stomped down on the scuttling thing, then lifted his foot.

It immediately kept crawling towards Neji's feet, and Shikamaru swore aloud, stomping on it again and making sure to squish it. "What the fuck is up with these things?! God!"

"Neji, it's okay…" TenTen was hugging the older man now, in an effort to calm him, and he grabbed her shoulders, hiding his face in her neck with grit teeth.

"It's j-just a fucking…spider…" he growled.

"And unfortunately it's your only weakness, don't feel so bad about yourself," Shikamaru snapped. "Alright, we have to keep going. TenTen, you take Neji out of here, Temari and I will keep moving up, alright?"

"Got it," TenTen said. She wrapped an arm around Neji's shoulders, placing his hand over his eyes. "Close your eyes, Neji, I'll guide you out, okay?"

He said nothing and let her walk him away, and Shikamaru turned to Temari, who nodded at him, verifying she was ready. He opened the door, and they waded through the sea of black insects up to their toes into the next room. They had to step up to get into the room, the level of which was about up to their knees, and it was a rounded wooden area, the level going back down to the room they'd been in before around the corners.

Fortunately, they spotted the staircase immediately.

_Un_fortunately, they weren't ready for the scene before them as they closed the door and stared.

The ground was still covered in ants, but slowly and slowly they were starting to pile up against one another to form lumps of themselves against the sides of the walls, growing in numbers and moving as if they were one separate entity.

Temari inhaled deeply between her teeth. "Freaky…"

"You're telling me…" Shikamaru muttered darkly. "Come on…"

"Yeah…" Temari followed Shikamaru through the room.

"Holy shit!" Shikamaru suddenly yelled.

Temari gave a small scream when a _gigantic_ spider, now the size of Shikamaru's head, dropped down in front of them to the floor, scuttling around in frantic circles, the two of them jumping back.

"O-Okay, I'm really starting to think we should get out of here…" Temari stuttered, backing away, but then she froze when she felt the heel of her boot sink into something large, thick, and soft, and a hard fountain of something wet sprayed the bottom of her leg.

She saw Shikamaru's open-mouthed gaze aimed towards her foot behind her, and she turned slowly to look down over her shoulder.

She couldn't breathe.

Something gigantic, something that went up to her shin and stretched like a worm around the perimeter of the room, quivered, the ants piled on top of it falling out of the way. Her heel had pierced the skin of it, and its black fluids were spraying out from the incision, staining the bottom of her jeans.

"Okay, okay…!" she yelled, voice wavering in terror, backing away from it and running over to Shikamaru, one hand clutching his sleeve. "This isn't cool!"

"Calm down," he instructed.

"Wh-What was that, though?! What the hell was that?!"

"It looks like a gigantic millipede…" Shikamaru said with a grimace. "Gross, man…look at that thing bleed…And I think it's still fucking alive!"

"Okay, I wanna get this over with, okay?!" Temari said, breathing unevenly. "Can we get out of here?"

"Temari, I told you calm down," he said loudly. "We have to…" He paused. "What the fuck…?"

Temari noticed him looking down and looked down herself, still hanging onto his sleeve. She stared as he scuffed his shoe to the right, pushing the ants out of the way.

"…Don't move…" he whispered, eyes widening.

Temari gulped.

He had revealed what they were standing on, beneath the light layering of ants:

The back of some gigantic, shiny, black arachnid.

If Temari was a human, she figured she would have been out the door by now.

"What do we do?" she asked under her breath, her voice quivering.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, calming himself. Temari tried to stay cool, taking after him. "Well…we managed to walk on it without startling it too much, let's try to get off really slowly and not startle it again. I guess that's why this room's on a higher level than the others, and such a strange arrangement…"

"So…we just walk…?" she asked, wincing as she lifted one foot very slowly.

"It worked the first time." He took her by the arm, guiding her. They walked very slowly along the thick back, not looking at anything but their feet. "We just have to be careful and not do anything too fast or too loud…"

"Guys! We're blocked in!"

Shikamaru and Temari each winced and made strangled sounds in their throats as TenTen ran in, dragging a blinded-by-the-hand Neji behind her, and stopped to stare at the two on the back of the bug.

"Like that…!" Shikamaru hissed.

"Damn it TenTen…!" Temari gasped.

"What…the hell…?" she whispered, staring at the millipede bleeding and slowly rocking back and forth, its body wrapped around the room.

And of course, the ground beneath Temari and Shikamaru's feet lifted. Shikamaru dropped to the floor as a gigantic spider about the length of the room raised onto its legs that had been folded beneath it, ants falling off of it in a shower to scatter over Neji and TenTen, who shaded themselves quickly from the disgusting downpour. But Temari was grabbed by one of the legs and slammed into the wall, coughing in pain.

"Damn it!" Shikamaru yelled, whipping out his gun and shooting at the underbelly of the huge creature. "What the fuck is this witch trying to do?!"

"Kill us!" TenTen cried, wrapping her arms around Neji and covering his ears, who just stood there with his face hidden in her. "We tried to get out, and there was a wall of bugs blocking the entrance. I tried to get through them, they keep coming back and they tried to _eat_ me!"

"What?!" Shikamaru cried as he shot again and again at the spider's legs, which staggered. "Are you fucking _high_?!"

"They started biting my fingers, look!" TenTen held up her blistered hands, pressing Neji's head into her so he couldn't hear. "There's no way out, Shikamaru!"

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me! _Shit_!" Shikamaru shot one more time, and finally the spider fell, but Temari was still held, struggling, against the wall. Shikamaru began to skirt the beast, which still filled about half the room as it wiggled. "Temari! How you holding up?!"

"Oh, _perfect_!" she yelled, frustrated, groaning just a bit. "Please just get me out of here, damn…My back is bruised, man!"

"I'm coming! TenTen, how's Neji?"

"I-I dunno, I want him out of here, Shikamaru!"

"Just hold tight! I-!"

At that moment, everyone stopped talking, moving, and seeing.

The world turned white.

10

_**a/n: **_So there was a spider in my shower this morning…

So sorry about the late update. I'm currently undergoing ACT's, and state testing. But I finally got on the computer, and so spawns the chapter of epic creep. Have fun checking your walls to see if there's a bug there. Yeah.

_thanks for reading!  
_

_xmarachanx_


	11. Chills

equilibrium

11

_Another head aches, another heart breaks  
I am so much older than I can take  
And my affection, well it comes and goes  
I need direction to perfection_

TenTen was standing.

She didn't know how, why, or where, because everything was white. But she was just there, standing in some vast and empty white void with her arms by her sides in a calm, casual position.

When before, she recalled with an inward shudder, Temari had been held against the wall by a half-dead, gigantic spider about half the size of the tall room she was in.

It was so white it burned her eyes, which stung and watered, and only then did everything turn, in one blink, into actual sense.

She gasped when she felt the cold. It hit her like a tsunami wave, and she stumbled over, arms immediately flying around her shoulders, drawing her leather jacket closer as she stared around, wincing.

The others were just as confused as she was, and, thankfully, _there_.

"Wh-What?" was the first thing out of TenTen's mouth, breaking the silence.

They were in the same field they'd started out lying down in, and now, it was full of snow, whistling around them in a blinding wash-down of frozen cloud and condensation. The trees and the mountains on either side of them were completely blanketed in the white substance, as well as the ground under their feet, in about an inch. The sky was pitch black, starless and cloudless, only a brilliant full moon that replaced the missing sun glowing so bright that the snow sparkled.

Shikamaru groaned aloud, flinging an arm across his eyes. "Damn it! She changed it up for us! Gah, what is she tryin' to do, kill us?!"

Neji looked considerably relieved that there were no more insects, and he glanced around. They were standing in a circle, all standing even though they hadn't been in that position when they'd started out. They had obviously been manipulated by the witch or demon. One of the two, TenTen didn't care, would die anyways. "Maybe she's not trying to kill us…" Neji said slowly. "Maybe she's trying to keep us alive. I mean, look." He pointed, suddenly, to what was in the middle of them, what they were standing in a circle around. They looked down. A pile of wood, chopped probably from the trees around them. Or taken from the trees. TenTen couldn't tell how they'd gotten there, only that they weren't there before, and they were suspiciously neat-looking.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and suddenly pushed a hand into his pocket. "Huh." He revealed his cigarette lighter. "We're in luck, I guess."

Temari still hadn't spoken, and TenTen walked forward as Shikamaru bent over the logs and held his lit lighter up to them. She put a hand on Temari's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I…It's sno…snowing…!" she gasped, staring around.

TenTen raised an eyebrow, beginning to feel worried. "Um…yeah? It's snowing." Then realization snapped inside her. "Oh! You've never seen snow before, have you?"

"No! A-And it's…c-c-cold!" she stuttered, holding her arms to herself and biting her quivering lip. She seemed to be a little paralyzed, and TenTen made sure to grab her shoulders and shake her before she pushed her away with an annoyed glare, back to normal.

"It's not real, you know," Shikamaru said from his crouched position, looking up over his shoulder. "Although, it does feel real…So yeah, I guess this can count as your first snow. Congratulations."

"Shut up w-w-with the s-sarcasm!" Temari snapped. She groaned. "Agh, I'm sh-shaking!"

Neji suddenly sneezed and wiped his running nose. "This sucks…" he mumbled, agreeing with her.

Shikamaru sighed, clapping his hands together once. "Here you go, wimps. Fire's ready."

"D-Don't call me a w-w-wimp!" Temari said, crouching by the fire and holding her hands out to it, closing her eyes tightly, and Shikamaru laughed, shoving her gently on the shoulder.

"Calm down. You know, you get so much touchier when you're cold, if it's possible."

"One more word and you're getting a face full of snow," Temari muttered. "I just hate the cold, that's all."

"Well he has a point," TenTen said reasonably, as she and Neji crouched down next to them as well, the four close to each other to share body heat. "Most people seeing their first snow would be more ecstatic."

"I'm not a person," Temari said darkly.

TenTen stared at her. The shadows of the flames were thrown along her face, seemingly lengthening her features. "Temari…" she said softly. But her attention was drawn away when Neji suddenly starting coughing.

Shikamaru glanced at him and narrowed his eyes. "Shit. Today just hates you, doesn't it?"

"What's wrong?" TenTen asked.

"Neji's immune system kinda…well, sucks," Shikamaru said, elbows resting on his bent knees, examining Neji with his concerned gaze. "The cold really gets to him. Usually he's okay with it, because he changes time zones all the time. But rapid temperature changes make 'im pretty weak."

"I-It's like someone's trying to kill _me_, n-not you – achoo! – guys!" Neji complained, wiping his nose and eyes with his sleeve and groaning, hiding his face in his arms.

Shikamaru sighed, then suddenly he stood. "Alright. I'm gonna go get some more fuel for this fire. Someone come with me, and someone stay with Neji."

"What?" Neji asked, looking up. "Why are you doin' that?"

"Because you can't stay here dying out of your nose," Shikamaru said simply. "We need a bigger fire so we'll melt the snow around it, and we can actually sit down, and maybe you can lie down and relax. You've already been scared to death, and now you're getting sick. You don't need this."

TenTen stared at Shikamaru as he frowned down at the fire. She recognized the concern in his eyes.

'_A brother's concern…_'

"I'll stay with Neji!" she volunteered automatically.

"Great, make the one who's never been in the cold go walking in it," Temari said grouchily, standing up and running her hands up and down her arms.

"Walking will warm you up, actually," Shikamaru said. "And since TenTen lived in Michigan, well, it'll be easier for her to cope with cold and just sit there."

"Well what about you?"

"Kansas didn't really get too much snow," Shikamaru said with a shrug. "And Konoha was a fairly warm place."

Temari sighed reluctantly. "Fine, I'll come…"

"We'll be back soon as possible," Shikamaru said simply to the other two.

TenTen nodded, then turned to face Neji directly with an inviting smile.

'_I might as well be concerned for you too, Neji_,' she thought as Neji glanced down at her. '_It's worth it, after all._'

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

Shikamaru didn't know how it happened, but as he and Temari were trudging along, they'd started talking, and sooner or later, it had gotten to him telling stories. Stories about past jobs, as they climbed through the snowy forest, slowly getting less cold and snowy as it got more and more dense and blocked out the snow, Shikamaru facing forward with a fond face he couldn't hold back.

"…and after that, well…we only went back there once, and the one time we did, a cement truck almost ran me over and a cat tried to kill my dad."

Temari laughed. "What?!"

"No, I'm serious! I was crossing the street and this truck comes out of _nowhere_, like it was literally as if it swerved lanes to purposefully try and squash me, and Neji had to pull me out of the way, and it was like a centimeter away from me. And then a cat jumped from on top of a wooden fence and mauled my dad, it pulled out, like, three chunks of his hair."

Temari was laughing so hard she stumbled over a tree branch, and Shikamaru smirked proudly; she didn't seem the type to appreciate a funny story.

"So demons practically, like, run that town now?"

"Yup. They're not dangerous, unless you count bad luck as dangerous."

"I say TenTen's pretty dangerous…" Temari said with a shrug.

"True."

"So where'd you go after that?"

"Uh, I think we…Yeah, we went up North Texas to find a job, and we ended up finding a demon trying to conjure up the dead."

Temari's eyes widened. "Wait, North Texas? When was this again?"

Shikamaru glanced at her. "'Bout four years ago or so." She suddenly stopped walking. Confused, Shikamaru stopped as well. "What's up?"

Temari was looking away from him for some reason. "What…was the demon's name, do you know…?" she asked, the sound of dread in her voice.

He blinked. "Dunno, I just did what my dad said and left with Neji while he killed it, he took it by surprise."

"Your dad killed him?"

"Yeah, I-" Shikamaru paused. "…I never said 'him'…" he said, narrowing his eyes at the woman, who was bracing herself on a tree with a tightly gripped hand. When she said nothing, Shikamaru frowned. "What's your issue?"

"Did he have a book of spells in his hand?"

Shikamaru blinked. She hadn't even answered his question, and it bugged him. "Well…yeah…how do you-?"

"Do you remember…?" Temari had to stop herself, as if trying to calm some hidden emotion bubbling to the top inside of her. She began again. "Do you remember _why_ my dad was killed…?"

Shikamaru thought back to Temari explaining.

_"And then, my dad was killed. A hunter came and took him."_

And TenTen revealing what she'd found on the internet.

_"Apparently her dad was killed in a graveyard, by the grave of his own father. When he was found dead, there was a 'book of spells' in his hand."_

His eyes widened.

"Your dad…?" he whispered.

"Last I heard from him, he was in Northern Texas to see his father's grave…" Temari said softly.

Shikamaru felt dread fill his stomach, and he shook his head. "I swear, I had nothing to do with it," he said as calmly as he could.

"Your dad did."

"If I knew I-"

"Just…don't, it's fine," Temari said darkly, heaving a long sigh. "He died four years ago, and like you said, you had nothing to do with it. You didn't know…" She turned to face Shikamaru again, and he had to resist the urge to cringe at the emotionless expression she wore. Her eyes that were usually sparkling, sky blue and lively, were completely blank. "It's not your fault, let's just…forget about it."

He wasn't convinced, and that definitely didn't cool his unsettled self-consciousness. Still wanting to let it out, he said, "Temari, listen-"

"No, don't, alright? It's fine, I'm fine." She ran a hand through her hair in an obvious attempt to act casual. "Listen, um, I'm gonna go back."

"Back?"

"To Neji and TenTen, um, I feel a little too cold."

"Temari, we can't go anywhere alone, especially not in a warp hole."

"I can take care o' myself, right? I'm a half-demon after all." She gave him a smile that was a little too cheery.

"You're asking to get yourself killed," was all he said stubbornly, turning to face her fully. "I'm not letting you walk off alone, I'm in charge here."

She kept her happy expression for only a little longer, then lost it for something desperate, and tired. "Shikamaru, I just feel like a _walk_, okay?"

"We can walk around and get more stuff for the fire, then."

"That's not what I mean, alright, I…I just wanna be alone right now."

"You can be alone later, Temari. Right now, it's too dangerous. Okay?"

"Just let me…ah…"

A second later Temari was lying on her side in the snow. Shikamaru's mouth parted, eyes narrowed, and he glanced around. No gun shot, no stab, what the hell was it?!

Then, he looked down, and with the lack of blood and pain, he realized what was going on and almost laughed in relief and frustration.

"Of course." He got on one knee next to the blonde lying in the snow, unconscious, and shook her by the shoulder. "The cold's gotten to you, huh?"

"…Uh…?" She woke slowly and turned over, weak, her eyes dim. "Didjya hit me?"

"No, I didn't hit you, don't be an idiot," he muttered, raising an eyebrow. "You fainted."

"I don't faint, you hit me…" she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

"It's the cold, idiot. You can't handle it, you've never felt cold like this before and it's probably just shutting off your body."

"Wha…? Is that bad…?"

He snorted. "You don't know much, do you?"

"I only took one year of college before I had to drop out…" she said quietly, eyes still closed and her voice and functions fading slowly as she fell into gradual unconsciousness again.

"Hey, hey, don't fall asleep!" Shikamaru said quickly, shoving her. She groaned.

"Why?"

"Because it'll kill you, that's why!" He sighed. "Here, I guess we're going back to Neji and TenTen anyways."

"What are you…?" He suddenly scooped her up in his arms easily and started walking back the way they'd come, Temari too weak to protest. "Hey…"

"This way you won't die of cold, or exhaustion, at least," Shikamaru explained.

She groaned. "I think I'm gonna throw up…"

"Your stomach's just freakin' out from the temperature changes," Shikamaru said.

"You pickin' me up isn't helping any…" she muttered, closing her eyes again. Realizing what she was doing, she snapped her eyes open again, but Shikamaru used one hand to slide over her eyes, closing them again.

"_Now_ you can go to sleep," he said.

muirbiliuqe

"Bless you," TenTen said for the fifteenth time. Because she'd been counting each time Neji had sneezed, groaned, and covered his face with his sleeve. It had been a couple minutes since Shikamaru and Temari had left, and all Neji had done was sneeze, cough, and water his eyes like a fountain, TenTen watching and commenting here and there with only, "Bless you,", "Are you okay?", and "Do you need me to do something?", all of which were responded with a simple "Thank you,", "I'll live,", and "No,".

And after the fifteenth sneeze, of which Neji, sitting down on the bare ground (the snow around them had finally melted from the fire leaving slightly soggy but still dry enough dead grass and cracked soil), had gotten considerably paler and started shivering, TenTen had had enough.

She turned to scoot even closer to him, considerably closer so that any stranger would be rather uncomfortable, so close that she was soon sitting right in front of him. She took his hands in hers, and immediately held them in her own.

He looked down at her. "What are you doing?"

"Warming you up," she replied as if this was an every day thing. She breathed on their hands and rubbed his hands between hers. He watched her, and gratefully let her. After a while of silence in which TenTen continued the routine of breathing and rubbing their hands, using friction and hot air, she placed his hands into his jacket and then cupped his cheeks in her warm palms, rubbing them together a bit to warm them up.

If Neji wasn't so used to TenTen's forwardness, he would have been unsettled. But TenTen could tell he found this normal for her, and for some reason, the feeling of her hands on his face felt good to TenTen, felt right.

And then, she started talking, with a faraway look in her eyes. "You know, me and mom didn't have heat or air conditioning back in Michigan."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "But it's pretty cold there."

"Yeah. And we couldn't afford to leave the stove running all the time, or use too much hot water. And most of the time, in the middle of the night, I'd be left alone in the house while mom went out to work. I couldn't go to sleep because it was so cold, I'd probably die. So I had to stay up all night long, or at least till it got a little warmer and I got a little more blankets."

She continued to warm his face up, holding her hands still on his cheeks, forming his long oval face.

"I would usually do my homework, or study, which is probably why I got to be class president, most likely to be valedictorian, and all that. I had to keep myself awake. I'd listen to music in my iPod my grandma got me before she died when I wasn't doing that. And a lot of times, I'd read."

She smiled, and felt his eyes travel across her face.

"It always made me feel warmer, reading stories, listening to other people's voices," she said. "But you know, sometimes I used to wonder," She directed the smile towards Neji now. ", if it would be warmer with someone else."

He stared at her for a while. Everything _about_ her was warm, not just her hands, at the moment. Her eyes reflected the flames, sparkling with some unknown dance that could not be mimicked. Her skin glowed, illuminated by the shadows that were flung across her round face. Her smile, welcoming and cozy.

He smiled right back and placed his warm hands on her own cheeks, rosy from being pinched by the cold and the snow that settled in their hair and on their shoulders.

"I think so."

She was confused, curious, for only a brief moment, and then she laughed and took his hands again.

He watched her. "Want me to tell you stories?"

She grinned. "Yes, sir!"

And that was when, yet again, everything changed.

It was like a brilliant white flash. TenTen couldn't see, or hear, or feel, or taste, or smell. It was like she was dead, but she'd felt this before, and she knew _this time_ what was going on.

Although, as the four found themselves standing yet again in an unfamiliar place in a circle, it was still quite as unsettling.

"Wh-Whoa…" Temari said, stumbling a bit as they all straightened up and looked around. TenTen got her bearings.

It was lukewarm now, and they were in a dark, narrow place. It took her a while to realize they were between two buildings, and they saw to their left the opening to a sunny street, people walking up and down. The sun was up, everything looked normal.

"What the hell…?" Shikamaru groaned. "Not again, damn it! What keeps happening?!"

"She's changing up the scenarios," Neji said darkly. "Witches can do anything to time and space. We might be across the country right now, thirty years in the future."

"Well we might as well get out of here," Shikamaru said, sighing. He glanced at Temari. "You warm enough?"

"Shut up," she snapped at him, but TenTen could see some sort of mutual thanks and forgiveness when she gave him a meaningful look.

Neji sighed. "Let's check it out then."

They walked out of the alley and into the bright street. Shikamaru and Neji were slowly getting more unsettled as Temari and TenTen looked around, then Shikamaru whispered, "Holy shit…"

"What?" Temari asked.

"I know where this is…" Neji said as well, both of them stopping and staring around.

"Well, where?" Temari asked again, getting impatient.

"This is Kansas!" Shikamaru said, turning back around, eyes wide. "Konoha, Kansas!"

"Okay, never heard of Konoha, but 'Whoop-Dee-Doo'…" Temari said, raising an eyebrow. "What's the big deal?"

"This is where we grew up," Neji said, frowning as he turned back around as well and faced the other three. "Which probably means…"

"Neji, Shikamaru! HEY!"

"Run for it, dude!"

"Going, going!"

Neji's eyes widened, and he quickly walked forward and grabbed the hood on Shikamaru's jacket.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?!" Shikamaru demanded.

"Stop struggling!" Neji snapped as he pulled it over Shikamaru's head. It shadowed his face, making him unrecognizable. Immediately after, Shikamaru was shoved aside by someone as he ran.

"Whoops, sorry, man." The person that shoved him stumbled and turned around, and all four stared at him wordlessly.

"...What…?" Shikamaru asked, eyes wide.

A younger version of Shikamaru Nara, about sixteen, stood there, raising an eyebrow, a beige backpack slung over the shoulder of his tan leather jacket.

"I said 'sorry'. What, are you half-deaf?" he asked incredulously.

"Shikamaru, stop being a jackass to random strangers."

Now, a younger version of Neji showed up, a backpack over his own shoulder and frowning distastefully at him.

"Calm down. I say one thing, you act like it's the end of the fuckin' world," the younger Shikamaru said, shifting his bag.

Younger Neji rolled his eyes, and they caught on older Neji, who was staring at him and obviously trying hard not to freak out. "Are you a Hyuuga…?"

TenTen realized now what Neji had done; pulled the hood over Shikamaru's head so younger Shikamaru wouldn't recognize himself. And he didn't have to do anything to himself, because obviously, all Hyuuga's looked the same…

'_Genius, as usual!_' TenTen thought proudly, smiling at the man who scratched his head.

"Um, yeah."

Younger Neji nodded. "Ah. Well, enjoy your time out of the complex while you can…"

"Yeah, and be careful, dude, Hiashi's on a friggin' rampage," younger Shikamaru said as he was yanked along by Neji. "Ouch! Watch the merchandize, you dick! You know it's your fault we had to run from dad, you're the one that spilled his beer!"

"Well you're the one that gave it to me, what do you expect?"

"I didn't think you'd drink it in the _morning_, that's just wacked out!"

"…It's like…" Temari laughed weakly as she watched the two younger versions of the men walk away, shoving each other down the sidewalk towards the school that sat on the edge of the busy street. "…I dunno, two _exact_ copies of you guys…Did you not change at all?"

"More like Neji never grew up," Shikamaru muttered.

"And _you_ were too tired to bother," Neji retorted.

Shikamaru groaned. "Gah, what do we do, follow them – us – me – him …?"

"Yeah we follow…us," Neji said; both of them finding it hard to say. "Maybe it's a significant day in our past or something."

"When we were still in High School? All I remember is being out of school for weeks because of hunting trips, then coming back and taking all the shit for it," Shikamaru said darkly as they started to follow the two boys a safe distance away.

As TenTen watched the two boys, then the two older versions, she began to see something strange.

A few differences that didn't have to do with age or style or look. They weren't recognizable, she couldn't tell what they were exactly. But they were there.

And whatever they were, she could see the grief stretching their hearts as they watched themselves. The way they walked, the way they talked. Something was hurting them.

'_Memory…_'

11

_**a/n:**_Is it obvious that I had more trouble with this chapter than I should have? O_O

OK, to all Shikamaru/Temari lovers reading this story: Check out my new one, **April in Her Eyes**. There will be a tad bit of Neji/TenTen and Kiba/Kankerou in it as well, so yeah, NejiTen and Yaoi fans also welcome! ;)

See ya'll in the next chapter, where comes the epic(adorable) younger Shikamaru and Neji High School Experience! Yes, this is shameless self promotion! :D

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	12. Memory

equilibrium

12

_And when there's nowhere else to run  
Is there room for one more son  
These changes aren't changing me  
The cold-hearted boy I used to be  
You're gonna bring yourself down  
_

"Hey! Shikamaru!"

The _real_ Shikamaru twitched. Temari tried not to laugh, she could see he was really hating this. The younger Shikamaru let go of Neji, who he'd been giving a head lock to as the two stumbled down the sidewalk towards the front of a small, ratty High School.

"Huh. Konoha High School. I still remember this place," Neji said thoughtfully as they watched the two younger versions of Neji and Shikamaru.

"Mhm. It was pretty…shitty, I guess you could say in the most polite way possible."

"Yup."

"You guys didn't like your High School days, did you?" TenTen asked.

"Who _likes _their High School days, TenTen?" Temari asked, frowning sideways at her. "I _hated_ my High School days."

"Why?" TenTen asked, tilting her head to the side.

Temari faced forward angrily. "Because, not only was there a shit-load of unnecessary drama, but virtually every boy I _saw_ would_ hit_ on me!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" TenTen fiddled with her hair sadly. "I was only asked out three times."

"No, it's not a good thing," Temari muttered. "You're lucky to not have men slap your ass every time you go through a crowd, or whistle out their car windows and all that. It gives you less people to beat up."

The other three stared at Temari as she kept walking, hands stuffed in her jean pockets and lips puckered, almost pouting, before TenTen laughed weakly and said, "Okay then…!"

"Hey! Shikamaru! Dude, are you _deaf_?!"

The younger Shikamaru turned away from younger Neji, who he'd been talking to, the two of them leaning against a tree in the long grassy stretch in front of the school. The older Shikamaru flinched, with the others, peeking around the corner discreetly and pretending to be standing at the edge of a gas station's parking lot.

The younger Shikamaru grinned. "Sorry Sora! I can't hear dicks!"

"Least I'm not dick-less!"

"Oh, hilarious comeback!" Shikamaru shoved Neji playfully on the shoulder. "Later, loser."

"Later freak," Neji retorted with a smirk as Shikamaru started to walk away to a boy with long dark hair and eyes, who had come over with three other boys; a very overweight one, a tall, pale one, and one with long hair dyed white.

Unfortunately, when Shikamaru had shoved Neji, something had fallen out of Neji's jacket.

Neji's eyes widened, and Shikamaru's lips parted in surprise; a switchblade was lying now in the grass in front of Sora, who stared at it, open-mouthed. Neji quickly darted down to pick it up and stuff it in his pocket, but everyone had already seen it.

"Dude…was that _your_ knife…?" the white-haired boy asked slowly.

Neji glanced at Shikamaru, who was at a loss for what to do, then at the boys. He bit his lip and nodded once.

"Uh, Kimimaro, who cares?" Younger Shikamaru asked loudly, quickly stepping in front of Neji. "Come on, let's go to homeroom or something."

"No, dude, I saw that too," Sora said slowly. "Neji, what the hell are you carryin' a knife around with you for?"

Temari glanced between older Neji and Shikamaru. They were both watching the scene with realization on their faces. "I remember this day…" Older Shikamaru said slowly.

Neji nodded, glancing at Shikamaru then back at the scene. TenTen was watching the younger Neji with interest.

"Hey, guys, it's not a big deal, okay? Let's go," Younger Shikamaru repeated.

"Neji, you know that weapons are illegal on campus, right?" Kimimaro asked.

"It isn't…what it looks like, I'm just holding it for someone," Neji said quickly.

"What, are you holding drugs too?" Sora asked. The other two boys just stood off to the side looking uncomfortable. Shikamaru and Neji kept exchanging worried glances.

"Listen, Sora, Kimimaro, just drop it, alright?" Shikamaru took charge now, pushing the two backwards gently. "Come on, can we go to homeroom now? I didn't do any homework."

"You never do your homework, Shikamaru. I wanna know what the hell this kid thinks he's doing," Kimimaro said, walking around Shikamaru. But Neji was gone.

The older ones could see Neji had slid behind a tree, sitting down and looking up moodily to watch a few birds flapping through the sky, expression glum and bored.

"Where the heck did he run off to?" Sora muttered.

"Well he's gone, so you guys can just…drop it," Shikamaru insisted.

"Sheesh." Sora stuck his hands in his pockets. "Why do you hang out with that guy anyways, Shikamaru?"

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked carefully.

"Yeah, I know what he means," Kimimaro said, nodding wisely. "The kid's _weird_. He's always walking out of class in the middle of the hour with no explanation, he skips school randomly, he doesn't do _any_ work, and people always see some sort of _knife_ on him."

"He's messed up, man," Sora concluded.

"He's not messed up," Shikamaru disagreed.

"Come on, Shikamaru!" Sora put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Open your eyes, dude! The guy's a freak! Hell, your whole _family's_ freakish except for you!"

"Yeah, come on," Kimimaro added. "Your dad…I remember going over to your house, and there's all these weird ass _books_ lying around, like with these freaky symbols on em? They're crazy!"

"It's not crazy…" Shikamaru muttered.

"I think he and Neji are insane or something," Sora said, getting more enthusiastic. "Especially Neji. He doesn't talk too much, and he's really emo. Like, you always see scrapes on his arms. I bet he cuts himself. He's sick, and I think -"

"Shut the _hell_ up!" Shikamaru suddenly swung a fist into Sora's face. The two boys on the side jumped in surprise, and Kimimaro's mouth opened, shocked, as Sora stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

Shikamaru glared at the boy on the ground, and the older Shikamaru smirked. "Heh. I remember this like it was yesterday…" he said as the younger Shikamaru advanced on Sora groaning on the ground, holding a bleeding nose and mouth with one hand.

"You jackass!" Kimimaro suddenly jumped forward and tried to sock younger Shikamaru in the stomach, who just blocked it easily. Kimimaro backed up, standing in front of Sora, who clambered to his feet, seething. "You wanna fight?! I'll give you a fucking fight!"

Younger Shikamaru laughed harshly. "You? Okay, but I hope I don't get white-out on me."

"Fuck you!"

Kimimaro tried to punch him in the face. Younger Shikamaru dodged the punch, then one more, then as Kimimaro tried once more, Shikamaru grabbed Kimimaro's fist, and sunk his own fist into the boy's stomach, turning him around so he could twist his arm painfully behind his back. Shikamaru then kicked his foot into the boy's back and sent him slamming into the ground.

"Hey! Shikamaru, stop!" Neji was suddenly there, hearing the commotion from behind the tree and seeing the crowd that began to form, kids jeering in awe. He pulled Shikamaru away from Kimimaro, and one of the boys from the sidelines, the pale, dark-haired one, pulled Kimimaro and Sora away.

Shikamaru didn't even have a scratch on him.

Older Neji glanced at older Shikamaru. "Your first fight."

"Wow, really?" TenTen asked. "My first fight was freshman year!"

"That _is_ my freshman year…" Older Shikamaru said, watching with an amused expression younger Neji patting younger Shikamaru on the chest, telling him to calm down.

"'Ey, if you tards wanna hang around Shikamaru after that then go ahead," Kimimaro said suddenly to the watching boys, panting and groaning just a bit as he held his back with a hand.

The overweight one frowned. "Course we do. I think he did the right thing."

"Chouji, don't…" Shikamaru started when Kimimaro, still pumping with adrenaline, advanced, but the pale boy stepped forward.

"I agree with Chouji. But that don't mean we gotta fight it out," he said reasonably.

Kimimaro, holding onto an aching stomach, clasped Sora's shoulder, and Sora, wiping blood from his face, said, "It's an us or him deal, then, Sai, Chouji."

"It doesn't have to be," Chouji said. "But if it's gonna be that way, then it's definitely him."

Younger Shikamaru smiled a bit as Sai nodded, and Sora scowled.

"Have it your way. Shikamaru, have fun being suspended. Neji, have fun in hell. Freak."

The two wounded boys limped away to school, arms around each others shoulders and ignoring the stares they got. The crowd that had somewhat formed around the fight began to dissipate, and Chouji turned to Shikamaru.

"Dude! What _was_ that?!" Chouji immediately lost his cool, looking completely appalled.

"Yeah! That was fucking _awesome_!" Sai, however, was grinning away excitedly, pounding Shikamaru on the chest as Neji still held him back; knowing he had a tendency to do sneak attacks.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru muttered darkly.

"That was kick _ass_!" Sai cried.

"Sai, you shouldn't be _encouraging_ him! He has a perfect record, and now it's gonna be ruined!" Chouji snapped. "Shikamaru, dude, I know it's tough when people insult your family, but seriously, you can't control your anger for one fucking second?!"

"…Whatever…" Shikamaru heaved a sigh. "C'mon, Neji, we're skipping today."

Neji glanced at Chouji and Sai as Shikamaru walked away, hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face. "Uh…thanks…" he said weakly, then ran to catch up to Shikamaru.

Temari glanced at the older Shikamaru.

For some reason, just watching that made her want to smile.

'_Is it the way he stood up for his friend and his family…_' she wondered. '_…or the way he fought so flawlessly? Why is my heart racing?_'

And reason and thought stretched in a second as her vision flashed white.

"What the hell?"

Fortunately, everything changed quite quickly. They were standing yet again in some dark place, and it took Temari only a moment to realize it was a closet, and they were all standing in a circle chest to chest, literally.

Temari turned and struggled when she felt the doorknob digging into her back, and she twisted it quickly, opening the door and stumbling backwards. As soon as the light from the room she was entering spread into the closet, she could see the blush on TenTen and Neji's faces from being so close to each other, and she smiled.

'_Cute…_' she thought, amused, as they all escaped.

She looked around. They were in a small wooden shack type of building, fortunately void of people. It was sunny, and for some reason the light seemed somewhat paler than usual.

Neji groaned as he looked around, and Temari turned to face him. "What?"

"We're still in Konoha," he muttered. "This is the car shop."

"Car shop?" TenTen asked curiously as Shikamaru shut the closet door. "Why are we here?"

"Dunno, it has something to do with one of us, though," Neji said. "I only know this place because I used to come here all the time. I kinda…really like cars."

"You mean you're obsessed with them," Shikamaru corrected him

Neji rolled his eyes. "So I guess it might have something to do with me."

"Again," Shikamaru added, sighing and shaking his head. "You poor bastard, this witch hates you."

"Yeah, well, gives me more of a reason to get rid of 'er," Neji said darkly, starting to walk out of the rental office. "Come on."

Shikamaru whistled quietly and followed, and Temari pushed TenTen along. She had to agree with Shikamaru; everything seemed to be trying to drag Neji more and more down. And TenTen had a look on her face that was unreadable. Although it was obvious she was pissed.

Temari smiled as she saw this. Anything that hurt 'her Neji' pissed her off. She sure was a tiger.

They exited to a sunlit parking lot with cheap used cars filling almost every spot and revealed to two older men fashionably.

Neji and Shikamaru both froze when they saw the older men. Temari frowned. "Who are they?" she asked them, sure that they knew them.

"…Dad…" Neji whispered weakly in response.

TenTen's lips parted as she turned to stare at the tall man with long hair in a high ponytail, just like Neji's. He had an oval face, and Neji's eyes. And the man with him was an older version of Shikamaru, but with a harsher face, scarred and not as smooth.

"They're…your dads…" Temari gathered quietly.

Shikamaru nodded slowly, eyes trained not on his own father but on the tall Hyuuga. Temari couldn't expect any more or less.

He was dead now, after all.

Shikamaru glanced sideways at Neji, and Temari did as well. His eyes were shining, and his jaw was clenched, but he was relaxing just a bit; TenTen's hand was on his arm.

"Hey, dad, look what we found!"

The older men turned, and suddenly two boys pushed past the four time travelers and ran over to them. One of them had short brown hair, the other black. They were both about five or six, and they were energetic, and each holding wrenches.

The older Hyuuga smiled. "Hey, Neji, don't run too fast or you'll-!"

"Oww!"

"- fall again…" The older Hyuuga shook his head.

The older Nara chuckled. "Wow, Hizashi. He's awkward," he said as the younger Neji was helped to his feet by a laughing younger Shikamaru. "Just like you!"

"Shut it, Shikaku. He's just a kid, of course he's gonna fall. It's normal," Hizashi said calmly as they watched their children walk over to them a little slower. "_Your_ kid, on the other hand, memorized the first seven pages of the Dictionary. Call _that_ normal."

"He's smart!" Shikaku said defensively. He looked over to Shikamaru and Neji. "What did you guys find?"

"This!" Neji suddenly held up proudly a small white skeleton to Shikaku who had crouched down in front of them, waving it right in front of his face.

Shikaku's eyes widened, and he straightened up quickly, backing away. "Whoa!"

Hizashi blinked in surprise. "Um…Neji, Shikamaru, what…is it…?"

"It's a dead rat or something," Shikamaru said, shrugging. "We think a cat ate it and choked on it and died, then it was found by a frog that chopped it open and left the skeleton as an offering to the god of humility."

"Aint it cool?" Neji asked eagerly. "Take it, it's yours! You can offer it to the god of humility!"

Hizashi glanced at Shikaku, who was dragging his finger across his throat meaningfully, then to Neji. "Um…Neji, Shikamaru, you shouldn't…dig up skeletons like that."

Shikamaru and Neji visibly drooped, disappointed, and Neji dropped his arm. "But _why_?!" they both chanted, whining.

"Because…" Shikaku sighed. "Just…don't do it. It's not…right."

Shikamaru pouted. "_We_ thought it was _cool_! You don't find skeletons except on train tracks, and there aren't any train tracks _here_."

"Why do we keep moving to different cities anyways?" Neji complained, throwing the skeleton into the middle of the parking lot, where it broke to pieces, making Hizashi and Shikaku visibly cringe. "We never have any time to make any friends."

"Hey, you have each other, that's good enough," Shikaku said, shrugging.

"Right," Hizashi said kindly. "Now, we need you guys' help on something."

"Really?! What?!" Shikamaru asked automatically, he and Neji practically beaming with excitement.

"Can you help us pick out a really cool car? One that your mother would approve of preferably, Shikamaru," Shikaku said with a smile.

"Cool!" Neji suddenly grabbed Shikamaru's wrist and began to drag him away to the cars, and the two older men laughed a bit as they watched them.

Temari, meanwhile watching with the others, was clutching TenTen's hand, who was jumping up and down, and finally, the two unable to take it, both squealed, "_Aww_!", earning disgusted looks from Neji and Shikamaru.

"How come you guys were so cute then and now you're so grumpy?!" Temari cried under her breath as they slid out of sight of the older men behind a beam holding up the roof of the car shop's shack.

Shikamaru glared at her. "Because we're not _five_ anymore…?"

"Hey! Dad, look at this!" They heard the younger Neji and Shikamaru's voices calling over their fathers to a car suddenly, and older Neji grinned.

"Hey, look at her! That's the Impala!" He sighed contentedly as the younger Neji jumped up and down ecstatically and Shikamaru climbed onto the hood of the car. "Isn't she beautiful at a young age?"

"You're a little _too_ obsessed with cars, dude…" Shikamaru said, sighing and shaking his head.

Hizashi and Shikaku walked over to the Impala, and Shikaku's eyes widened. "Wow! Your kid has good taste in cars, Hizashi."

"Heh. Good find, Neji, good find," Hizashi said, smirking. "Let's take a look at it, Shikaku."

"Right." Shikaku walked over to Shikamaru, who was trying to stay atop the hood, and lifted him off, throwing him across his shoulder. Shikamaru pouted and squirmed out of his arm, dropping to the ground painfully but getting up again and standing near Neji, watching the older men as they cracked open the hood.

Temari watched as the boys mimicked their fathers and peered inside. She could see how they practically worshiped their fathers at a young age. And now, she could see how they were just like their fathers at an older age.

This was a timeline. This was a memory. Temari frowned as she glanced sideways at older Neji and Shikamaru, who were looking in on the scene. She could see the fondness in their eyes. But she could also see the pain.

Those were the days when they didn't _have_ to care about things like death and demons.

This was a timeline. This was a memory. A memory that was only alive right then because Shikamaru and Neji were still there for each other.

She stared at them. They were always, from the beginning, there for each other. And somewhere along that timeline, they'd been separated. And without each other, they'd became lonely vessels of life for anger and revenge.

Their vision turned white one last time.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

_"Shikamaru. It's about time."_

Shikamaru's eyes shot open. He wanted to swear aloud. These changes seemed to have something to do with realization, or else they were simply spontaneous. Either way, they were so random they pissed him off.

But he couldn't see anything.

His mouth parted in confusion, shock. The world was white. _Everything_ was just…_white_.

Was he dead? Was he finally dead?

_"I see you've brought the payment."_

"What…?" he whispered. He felt consciousness, and he sat up straight and glanced around. He could see TenTen and Temari, both of them getting up as well. And he could see Neji, getting to his feet. He stood with TenTen and Temari and glanced around.

They were in some sort of white land. The ground below them was as hard as steel, but there didn't seem to be any ceiling, or walls. Just…white…

"Where…are we…?" TenTen asked slowly.

Temari winced. "My eyes hurt…too much white…"

"I don't know where we are…" Shikamaru said quietly.

"Shikamaru." He turned to Neji, who had narrowed his eyes. "Who was just talking?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "You…heard…?"

"We all did," Temari said, watching him. "Who was that?"

"I…"

_"Neji, huh? So you really did it, Shikamaru…"_

Shikamaru grit his teeth. "Did _what_…?" he muttered.

"Shikamaru, who is that?" Neji repeated loudly.

"What's going on?" TenTen asked, sounding worried. Shikamaru ignored them and turned around, scanning the fields of white.

'_What the hell __**is**__ this?!_' Shikamaru thought wildly, glaring at the expanse. '_No one's here, I don't get it!_'

"Thank you…"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. The voice wasn't echoing around the land anymore, but it was right behind him.

He turned to look over his shoulder slowly, and saw something that made his heart stop.

There was a man behind Neji.

He had pale hair, and brilliant red eyes. He had on a long, high collared, black trench coat, buttoned, and he was barefoot. He was just a flash of black, he didn't even seem to be there. Just a flicker, as if of flame.

And he held a knife in his hand.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Shikamaru whipped around, but at the same time he was turning, the knife sunk into Neji's back. Neji's eyes widened, and his mouth opened as he tried to move, but the pain rendered him helpless. Shikamaru turned around all the way and saw the tip of the knife peeking through Neji's stomach, blood flying from the wound and splattering the ground. Neji's cough echoed through the silence, and then the man and knife were gone, and Neji let out some sort of strangled noise in his throat, of pain and shock, as he dropped to his knees.

And then the world changed. They were all back in the hotel room, and time began move the right way again as Shikamaru found himself shouting Neji's name, running forward.

"NEJI!"

"Neji!" TenTen screamed as Shikamaru skidded to his knees in front of Neji and held him up. The hotel room floor was now covered with Neji's blood.

"Neji! Hey, Neji!" Shikamaru yelled. His heart was pounding, and he moved Neji so he was looking right at him. "Neji!"

Neji opened his eyes, and they were dim and glassy, glazed with pain. "…Shikamaru…" he half mumbled, half whispered.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's me…" Shikamaru said quietly, moving Neji's bangs out of his face. He held his breath and moved a hand to Neji's back. He moved his hand back and gazed at it; his palm was completely red, covered with blood. He gulped and looked back at Neji. "It's not even that bad…it's not even that bad…" he whispered as reassuringly as he could. He turned to Temari and TenTen, never feeling more desperate in his life. "Get help!"

Temari stared at him and shook her head, eyes filled with pity. TenTen was staring at Neji with tears spilling over her eyes, biting her fingers. Temari closed her eyes. "Shikamaru…there's nothing we can do…" she said softly.

"Don't…" Shikamaru cleared his throat. "…Don't talk like that, you're being stupid! _Get help_!" he yelled furiously. She was just being idiotic! Neji wasn't going to die, _nothing_ was going to happen to him! He turned back to Neji. "Neji!" he barked when his eyes began to close, his head nodding to the side. "Hey! Don't close your eyes…Don't you dare close your eyes…"

"…I'm…I don't…" Neji mumbled, head lolling to the side, his eyes barely open. Blood came from his mouth, trickling over his lips. "Shikamaru…"

"Hey, it's okay…" Shikamaru said, smiling the best he could, forcing Neji's face up with his hands so he'd look at him. "It's okay! You're gonna be fine!" He felt tears coming on, and tried not to cry. "That's why I'm here. I'm your annoying little brother, right?"

Neji's eyes widened. Shikamaru knew why. He'd never told Neji that before. He'd never said that Neji was his brother, never actually admitted it.

But it was true, and Shikamaru nodded bitterly. "Right?" There was a smile on Neji's blood-coated lips that Shikamaru didn't like; it signaled surrender. "Neji…Come on, stay with me, man…" he whispered. He saw Neji's eyes flutter closed, and ground his teeth together against the tears.

He shook his head. "No…Come on, don't do this…don't do this, dude…" he mumbled, voice shaking with agony. "Neji…You promised…You promised your dad, right?" He held Neji close to him, knowing it was too late already. "You promised your dad…" he said, and they could all hear the sobs in his voice. "That was the last thing you promised him. That you wouldn't leave me alone…" He let the tears start to fall, and he held Neji's body close to him.

He didn't care about the blood. He hid his face in Neji anyways, crying as he pressed his fingers to his neck desperately, although he felt no pulse. "Neji…" he sobbed.

"Don't leave me alone…"

12

**_a/n: _**Forgive me? :(

To lighten the mood, I've given an ode to _Dean_ from _Supernatural_. The characters in this story love the same things he does. -- Shikamaru & Neji: Sex + sexy women (will be explained), and beer. Shikamaru & Temari: Classic rock and gambling. Neji: Cars, specifically the Chevy Impala (AKA Metali_ca**r**_). TenTen: Loves food.

thanks for reading!

xmarachanx


	13. Addiction

equilibrium

13

_I got soul, but I'm not a soldier  
Over and in, last call for sin  
While everyone's lost, the battle is won  
With all these things that I've done_

Shikamaru's heart hurt.

He'd never felt pain like this before. It was like every beat that pounded through him was some sort of throbbing ache. It hurt to _live_. How could he kill himself, without Temari or TenTen intervening? Because they would. He knew they would. But he couldn't live. Not anymore.

He could only see black as he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the tears slip between his lashes and down his cheeks, his teeth grit together. He held Neji tightly, as if his body would disintegrate if he let go one second.

Neji had always been there. What had he done wrong, to let Neji die in front of his eyes? Why had he let his guard down? It was his fault. It was all his fault. He'd told himself he'd push Neji away, so he wouldn't get hurt. And he just couldn't do it, in the end.

He couldn't do anything…

"This is a warning, Shikamaru."

His eyes snapped open. They were still in the hotel room. He felt Temari and TenTen's presences, he could hear TenTen sobbing into Temari who quietly comforted her. But they both stopped when the voice spoke from a man standing right in front of Shikamaru, kneeling on the ground and holding Neji's limp, bleeding dead body in his arms.

It was the same man from before. Shikamaru stared at him, saw the bloody knife in his hands, recognized the voice he had heard in his dreams for the past month.

He felt fury beyond anything he'd ever felt before. He couldn't even see, he was so angry.

But before he could manage to speak, the man continued, an amused smile on his face. "I have the ability to give his life back. What would you give to bring Neji back?"

Shikamaru stared at the man, calming down somewhat as hope rose in his throat. He could do that? Bring Neji back?

At this point, he would do anything.

"Would you give your life?" the man continued. "Would you give up your life so that you could spend a little while longer with your brother?" Shikamaru still couldn't talk. His mind wound inside of itself, and he swallowed hard.

"Yes or no, Shikamaru," the man said loudly.

Temari suddenly stepped forward urgently. "Shikamaru…"

"What'll it be, Shikamaru?" The man was starting to get a little impatient. "Going once…"

Shikamaru bit his tongue, tasting blood. His head was pounding, aching painfully.

"Going twice…"

"Shikamaru!" Temari repeated angrily. "Don't-"

"_Yes_," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Shikamaru, _no_-!" Temari started, but she was interrupted when there was a flash of white.

When the whiteness cleared, they were still in the hotel room. Shikamaru stayed frozen. His head was swimming and throbbing. But he felt motion in his arms, and not believing it, he leaned back and held Neji up.

Neji's eyes opened a crack, then a bit more very groggily. "Nn…?"

Shikamaru let out a laugh, letting relief relax him. He realized his senses were coming back, his arms were tingling and he felt very cold and shaky. His heart seemed to lift from where it had been in his stomach, and it was beating again, hard and fast. "Neji."

"…What…" Neji mumbled, lifting his head and looking at Shikamaru. He winced. "What happened…?"

Shikamaru swallowed hard, smiling breathlessly, and pushed Neji's bangs out of his face. "It's okay, you're…you're okay, Temari did some sort of demon thing and healed you." He looked up at Temari. She was standing there with an unreadable expression on her face, next to TenTen, who was staring, her mouth open, tears staining her cheeks. "Right?" Shikamaru asked Temari, giving her a meaningful look.

She glanced between him and Neji, then narrowed her eyes.

"Right…" she said quietly. "I don't know how I did it." She glared at Shikamaru. "_No idea_."

Shikamaru tried to ignore her and breathed out slowly. "Try to stand up, you need some food in you," he said, grabbing Neji's shoulders gruffly and hoisting him slowly to his feet. Neji stumbled a bit, groaning and holding a hand to his forehead. He was sweaty and weak, and Shikamaru put his arm around his shoulder. "You alright?"

"…Yeah…Yeah, I think so…" he said quietly. He glanced at Shikamaru. "What happened? All I remember is being stabbed, and you were…"

"It's…nothing, we got sent back here and Temari healed you," Shikamaru said simply. "That's it." He glanced at TenTen and Temari. "That's it," he repeated, knowing they would understand. They just stared at him, but they said nothing.

Neji was obviously unconvinced, but he seemed to be too tired to protest. Shikamaru let him go, and Neji held himself up with a hand on the wall. "I'll get you some water, okay?" He started to walk over to the kitchen of the hotel room and looked over his shoulder. "You wan something to eat? I can-"

He was interrupted when TenTen ran to Neji. Shikamaru paused and watched as she hugged him tightly, sobbing into his chest.

Neji stiffened, surprised, as she buried her face in him, tears falling from her eyes. He placed his hands awkwardly on her back. "TenTen…?"

"I…I th-thought you w-were dead…" she stuttered quickly. "I thought you were dead…"

He stared down at the top of her head, then smiled and stroked her back consolingly. "I'm fine…" he murmured. "It's okay…" TenTen smiled, setting her head on his chest and relaxing as she let the last of the tears flow.

Shikamaru watched them, watched Neji's face as he placed a hand on TenTen's head in front of the high ponytail she wore.

'_He loves her,_' Shikamaru thought with a smile. '_He still won't admit it, but Neji finally fell in love with someone. I guess it's about time he gets someone who doesn't think he's a freak…_'

TenTen looked up at Neji. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked immediately, wiping the tears from her eyes and frowning. She glanced down and lifted his shirt just a bit so she could see his stomach. Shikamaru looked as well, and saw a scar marking the smooth skin there. However, TenTen sighed in relief; it didn't look too bad at all. She pushed his shirt down and felt his face with her hands. Neji let her, and even smiled a bit as she did so.

TenTen blinked in surprise, retracting her hand. "You have a fever! It's really bad too…Sit down…" She pushed him onto the chair at the table on the side of the room.

"Shikamaru, I need to talk to you."

Shikamaru turned and saw Temari, glaring at him. He turned his face away. "No thanks, I'd rather stay here if you don't mind," he said simply, walking over to his suitcase at the edge of his bed.

"I _do_ mind. I need to talk to you," Temari repeated stiffly.

"Well I don't want to talk, so-Hey!" Shikamaru groaned as she grabbed his wrist tightly and pulled him along after her.

"We'll be in the hall, you two," Temari said. They weren't listening; TenTen was giggling as she tipped a glass of ice water into an amused Neji's mouth.

She walked out of the hotel room, closing the door, and glanced down each side of the hall before turning and pushing Shikamaru into the wall. She took each of his wrists and pressed them to the wall on either side of him, and he watched emotionlessly as she glared straight in his face.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded, blue eyes flashing dangerously.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly, looking away from her.

"_Selling your life_, that's what I'm talking about!" she snapped.

Shikamaru paused, and slowly looked back at her. "What do you know about…?"

His voice faded when she sighed in exasperation, closed her eyes tightly, then opened them.

Shikamaru's lips parted in surprise.

Her eyes were no longer the same teal blue he was used to. They were black. They mirrored the black shadows of hell, and presented what she had inside of her; the smoky build-up of demon. The eyes were pools, pools that you could only dive inside of to screams of pain, death, loneliness.

"I'm a half-demon, _kid_," she said darkly, and her voice wasn't Temari's voice anymore. "I know more than you'll _ever_ know." He'd never seen her angrier. "Hell _whispers_ in my ear, and it's telling me…!"

She suddenly turned away from him, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh, then she opened her eyes again and turned back to him; the blue returned, the black receded. "…You only have a little while…" she said quietly, and he saw the pity in her eyes now, instead of anger. "What were you thinking?" she asked.

He scowled. "Well what about you?" he demanded. She blinked in surprise, then her eyes got even sadder. Shikamaru was not going to pity her, though, she was the one holding him against a wall. He continued. "Wouldn't you – _Didn't_ you?! For your brother?!" She slowly let go of his wrists, and he stepped forward from the wall. "You know how I feel…" he said quietly, watching her as she looked away, crossing her arms and biting her lip.

She stared at the ground. "I wish…I could have saved you…" she murmured. "From going down the same _stupid_ path I did…" Shikamaru said nothing, and she looked up at him. "It doesn't bring happiness," she said sternly.

"I know," he said quietly.

"It only gets more painful from here," she continued.

"I know."

"And…" She paused. "It's worth it…" she whispered.

He was silent for a few seconds. "I know…"

She sighed. "That was…all I wanted to say…" she said softly.

"Thanks..." he said quietly, walking back into the hotel room.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

They all sat around the hotel room in a dreadful silence.

Neji sipped the water as TenTen had suggested he do, so his fever would go down. Feeling hot and sweaty, he'd removed his leather jacket and now relaxed as best as he could.

But there was something that could not calm his nerves. He felt tingly all over, and every time he moved his head the world spun. TenTen kept giving him glances filled with relief and worry, and he couldn't help but continue to smile as convincingly as he could at her, trying to reassure he that he was fine.

He _was_ fine. But he was suspicious.

It was obvious something had happened they weren't telling him. Temari kept sending looks Shikamaru's way, Shikamaru was just staring at his knees, and TenTen was a busybody as usual.

He felt a little better knowing TenTen had been _that_ scared for him. Not that he liked her scared. But he liked the fact that she cared about him. Someone so innocent actually _cared_ about him. She wasn't scared of him, she didn't treat him like an outcast or make fun of him. She _idolized_ him, and every time she said something good about him or did something for him, saying, "Yes sir!" in that honey-sweet voice, his heartbeat accelerated to a rhythm he didn't recognize and he just wanted to smile…

But now, she was just worried. Confused. Scared. Relieved.

"Shikamaru…you ready to tell us now?" Neji asked finally, unable to take the crushing silence any longer.

Shikamaru looked up slowly. Neji stared at him.

_"That's why I'm here. I'm your annoying little brother, right?"_

Neji almost smiled again. He really thought he was going to die right then, and he had been _happy_ to die. Looking into his little brother's eyes and hearing those words.

'_He finally gets it…_' Neji thought contentedly. '_We're brothers. It's just…how it is. And there's no hiding it. No matter what reason he was hiding it for in the first place…_'

"Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru sighed. His eyes were unreadable, but Neji could tell he'd expected this, and had been thinking over what to say. So he automatically said, "Yeah."

Temari, leaning against the wall, straightened up a bit, watching him as he placed his hands on his knees and looked away. "I've…been having nightmares about Hizashi and Asuma," he said.

Neji waited for more, but there was just a pause. He frowned. "And…?" he pressed.

Shikamaru glanced up at him, then shook his head.

"That's it."

Neji exhaled slowly, pressing the water bottle to his face as he glanced up at the ceiling. "You're lying…" he said loudly to the plaster.

"No I'm not."

"I know you are." Neji looked back down to Shikamaru. "What else?"

"Nothing else."

"Shikamaru…" TenTen said. "If Neji says you're lying, then you're lying."

"Just drop it, okay?" Shikamaru said, lying on his back on the bed he sat on next to TenTen. He threw an arm over his eyes. "I'm tired. I'm not saying anything more."

Neji removed the cold water bottle from his face and passed it between his hands thoughtfully, watching as TenTen poked Shikamaru in the stomach, who flung her hand away, making her laugh. He then to glanced to Temari and saw something in her eyes; an anger, a frustration. He still wondered what she and Shikamaru were talking about, but he understood it was something Temari couldn't say. So he just nodded back to her as she shook her head slowly, meaningfully, and gestured to Shikamaru.

He stood abruptly. TenTen blinked. "Neji, careful…" she started, but he felt fine.

"Alright. You won't say more," Neji said. Shikamaru took his arm away from his eyes and looked up at Neji, who scowled.

"I know someone who will."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

Shikamaru wondered if he feared death.

He had just sold his soul so Neji would live, and he had no idea how much longer he had till whoever-it-was came and took him to hell. That didn't seem like a fear of death.

But it had only been impulsive. It had only been Shikamaru acting on his instincts. Shikamaru being stupid again, not thinking. He had just…done it. He didn't know what kind of deal he'd made and how he'd made it, but he had. And now, he was going to die.

Maybe he did fear death after all.

He closed his eyes as he set his head against the cold window of the car. Neji had forced them all to pack immediately and get in the Impala, but he wasn't telling anyone where he was going, and kept giving Shikamaru suspicious glares.

Shikamaru thought about what Temari had said.

'_She wishes she could have saved me? Saved me from what? How could she do that?_' His fingers twitched to his pocket where a pack of cigarettes and a lighter were, trying to resist the urge. He was addicted now, he knew it was about time. But this is what he wanted. He could remember Asuma, sucking on the little paper roll and exhaling a cloud of black smoke.

Shikamaru wasn't addicted to cigarettes. He was addicted to Asuma's memory.

He knew, somehow, that it was his fault, and he wasn't going to rest until he'd made things right again.

_'Temari wouldn't have been able to save me. Nobody can tell what's going to happen…_' Shikamaru thought grimly. '_But at least, after it's happened, they can change it…_'

He feared death. Sure. But he didn't fear the one that would send him to his. And he was going to send _him _to hell first.

Shikamaru took the lighter out of his pocket, turning it over in his hands.

One addiction was far enough.

13

_**a/n: **_A quick update, because I can. Try to guess who Neji's taking them to see. HINT: She's the same age as Shikamaru. Heh, I just realized something: I have trouble not making this a ShikaNeji. Not only would it be yaoi _and_ incest (delicious), but it would mimick _Wincest _in _Supernatural_! However, this is a ShikaTema and shall stay a ShikaTema. Don't worry, there _will_ be a fair share of yaoi and crack nontheless. (KibaxKankerou FTW!)

In other news, I have a new story up called **12:00 PM**. Feel free to take a look at it, ShikaTema lovers! Yes, this is shameless self promotion again. And **Happy Easter everyone! ****waterdragonrai**, don't you dare put that rotten Easter egg under my bed! I killed off someone else instead!

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	14. Hell

equilibrium

14

_Livin' easy, livin' free  
Season ticket on a one-way ride  
Asking nothing, leave me be  
Taking everything in my stride_

_**"Hey Asuma, I've been thinkin'…"**_

_Shikamaru rolled over onto his back in the grass. He lay in the football field with Asuma, Sai and Chouji late at night. Sai and Chouji were asleep, leaving Shikamaru and Asuma to stare up at the stars. Each star glowed a different way, a different shade of white, a different level of brightness that could not be measured on a spectroscope, their own story._

_  
Asuma turned to look at him. "Thinkin' about what?"_

_"Eh, just kinda deep stuff…" Shikamaru admitted, sitting up slowly and propping himself on his elbows like Asuma. He looked out at the moonlit field. The grass was illuminated a dark greenish black, dancing around and swaying in a breeze to an unheard music. "Like…well, my life."_

_Asuma watched him curiously. "Okay. Let's hear it."_

_"It's just…you keep telling me I should be a teacher," he said carefully._

_"Well you're brilliant, of course I think so," Asuma said seriously._

_Shikamaru nodded. "I know, I know. And I think…it would be kinda cool, too. To be a teacher, I think I have it in me. But my dad's a - " He paused. "My dad's a __**mechanic**__. So I have to be a…mechanic too."_

_Asuma frowned. "You really think so?"_

_"It __**is**__ so."_

_"Really, now…" Asuma suddenly lit himself up a cigarette and sucked on it thoughtfully. He opened his mouth, letting the smoke escape his lips in a puffy cloud. "Then why are you here?"_

_"I guess…I wanted to prove my dad wrong. I remember ditching dad and Neji and moving in with Chouji in my Junior year of High School, right after Neji dropped out of school. I couldn't take it. I thought I was going the right way, doing the right thing. But I can't…" Shikamaru closed his eyes. "I can't deny who I am."_

_Asuma scratched his head. "Well…How about this; do __**you**__ want to be a 'mechanic'?" He used air quotes; he didn't believe Shikamaru's example._

_Shikamaru, however, wasn't annoyed. In fact, he was surprised, and he stared at Asuma. "No one's…ever asked me that before…" he said slowly._

_"Well, do you?" Asuma asked._

_Shikamaru shook his head. "More than anything…no."_

_Asuma smiled. "Then you don't have to be one." He faced the field, flicking a spark off the end of the cigarette. "See, there're gonna be a few choices you make in your life that will determine who you're going to become. And you're the only one that can make them. Not your dad, or Neji, or anyone else."_

_"But… how do I know what's the right thing?" Shikamaru asked. "How do I know what I'm supposed to become? How do I know I've lived a good life?"_

_Asuma smiled. "You know you've lived a good life if you're dying, and you don't regret a thing. You just gotta ask yourself that question, Shikamaru." Asuma turned to face him. "Do you regret anything?"_

_**"Hell is coming for you."**_

Shikamaru sat straight up, eyes wide. He looked around wildly and calmed himself. Temari and TenTen were sleeping, and Neji glanced at him as he drove along. Shikamaru glanced at the clock on the car; it was eleven at night. He lifted the back of his hand to his forehead, wiping off the cold perspiration.

'_What was that…?_' he thought glumly. '_It's just a memory…_'

Neji was watching him, and Shikamaru glanced at him once before resting his head against the window.

Neither of them had anything to say that they didn't already hear.

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Agh, damn it Neji!" Shikamaru swore. They were walking down the sidewalk to a squat little house, windows covered with lacy grey curtains and porcelain cats lining the sill. They'd driven till they got to Lincoln, Oklahoma, a small sunny town. The advanced winter presented their breaths in front of them, cloudy and white and dancing their small victorious freedom of their mouths. "You couldn't have chosen someone else?!"

"She's nice," Neji defended himself simply. "And no one else is as good as her."

"She's too _happy_, she could tell me that there's a vampire behind me and make me laugh about it!" Shikamaru snapped. "This isn't the right situation, it doesn't fit together!"

"Calm down, loser," Neji said, rolling his eyes as they climbed the porch. "Unless you want her to think you're a PMS-ing girl."

"Fuck off."

"Jesus Christ, you two…" Temari muttered, sighing and placing her hands on her hips as Neji rang the doorbell. "You've been arguing about pointless _shit_ for hours, do you want me to kill you?"

"You're givin' me a headache…" TenTen complained quietly.

Neither of them could retaliate, because, quicker than they'd expected, the door flew open, and then the screen door did as well, barely missing Neji's head.

A young woman about Shikamaru's age stood in the doorway and gave a beaming smile. She had a set of powdery blue eyes and glossy blonde hair, pulled into a soft, high ponytail. Her bangs flopped over her eyes, and she was dressed in a skimpy blue sweater and jeans that showed off her tiny, pixy form. "Neji! Shikamaru!" she cried, and her voice was filled with a joy that could only be described as overdramatic.

"Hey Ino," Neji said. "Listen, we need-"

"Yes, yes, I _know_," Ino said impatiently. She looked over the men's shoulders and smiled. "Temari, TenTen, it is _so_ nice to meet you." They both just blinked, confused, and she turned her back on them. "Well, come on! Come in, don't waste my heating system!"

"Who…?" TenTen asked cautiously as they followed her in and Shikamaru closed the door behind them.

"Ino Yamanaka," Neji explained as they looked around the living room. It was grey, and the dark carpet was covered in about an inch of dust. Iron-framed paintings of cats lined the walls, and the scent of _real_ cats, that must have been hidden somewhere, was strong. "Best damn mind reader in the world, if not a little…strange. Her dad's a good friend of Shikamaru's, so she's pretty much a family friend."

"A mind reader?" Temari asked interestedly.

"Yes, literally," Shikamaru said glumly. "Which is why she knew your names."

"Dude, _awesome_!" TenTen cried under her breath excitedly. "She should be a therapist!"

"Psychologist, actually." Ino suddenly came back into the room, holding two coffees. She nodded to Temari and Neji as she handed them to Shikamaru and TenTen. "You two don't like coffee."

"How…did you know…?" Temari asked, blinking, confused.

Ino just smiled and tapped her head. "Anyways, yes, I'm a psychologist, and because I understand each and every way the mind works, I get good money out of it! Nice, isn't it?" She sighed, then turned to Shikamaru. "Okay, Shikamaru, let's get started. I know what you're all here for, so I might as well."

He raised an eyebrow, setting his coffee on a side table and sitting on the sofa she gestured to. "What are you gonna do?"

"Just some dipping into your head," Ino said airily, sitting next to him. She nodded to the others. "Go ahead, take a seat. This won't take too long," she said with a smile. They did so, and she turned to Shikamaru, who was watching her warily. "Alright. I need you to close your eyes first off." He did so, and she suddenly placed a hand over his eyelids, closing her own eyes.

TenTen watched closely as Ino frowned thoughtfully, and she glanced at Neji and Temari, who both looked just as lost as to what she was doing.

Ino suddenly spoke. "Oh no…I thought this might be the issue…"

They both opened their eyes, and Shikamaru blinked in surprise. "It was…that quick?" he asked.

"A mind reader gathers information in a brief second," Ino said quietly, and for some reason she avoided Shikamaru's gaze. "With one sweep, they know everything. Usually they can just look at a person, and it works. I did a bit more searching, and it's perfectly clear…"

"What is?" Neji asked intensely.

Ino glanced at him briefly before looking away. "Do you four know what holy water is?" she asked finally.

"Holy water?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. "I dunno…It's been blessed or something?"

"Then why would it work if there is no heaven or god?" Ino asked softly.

"What are you talking about, what does this have to do with anything?" Shikamaru asked.

"Patience…" she said softly. "I need you all to understand something. People are always surprised when I tell them." She sat forward, hands on her knees. "Holy water is salt water."

"Psht. That explains some things," Temari muttered.

"Yes, you probably figured that, Temari. You are a half-demon after all," Ino said, looking up at her. "So you understand…the situation of hell and earth." Temari nodded slowly. Ino smiled grimly. "Care to explain it?"

Temari leaned back. "There is no heaven," she said quietly. "There is no god. There are no angels. All there is, is a Hell. Demons only exist because they were created from ghosts, which are just the determination of the dead that stay when they still have something to hang on to. If these ghosts stay too long in the living world, instead of letting go, they're tainted by hell, turning them into demons, and sometimes vampires or werewolves."

"Those exist?" TenTen whispered.

Temari nodded. "Almost all of those things you've heard of do exist, but fables have twisted them into something unrealistic. All witches are, is women that channel power from demons."

"So that Tsunade we're chasing is just a human?" TenTen asked.

"Yup," Temari said. "Demons and ghosts and monsters and humans, are all locked in a sort of rule of trade. You can trade half, or all, of your soul between each other. There has to be a demon there to make the deal. Demons usually lurk in hell, but they're easy to summon so they can make the deal, or so they can cause trouble."

"We already know most of this," Neji said stiffly. "What does this have to do with Shikamaru?"

Temari looked at him. "Because he traded too."

"Like you?" TenTen asked curiously as Neji just stared at her, bewildered.

"No," Temari said. "Not like me. I traded half my soul. Shikamaru did something else."

"_What_?" Neji asked impatiently.

Ino clasped her hands together. "You people were chasing Tsunade, yes," she said softly. "But you weren't in a wormhole that _she_ created. In fact, I doubt she knows you're on her trail. You were in a wormhole of the demon Hidan's design, so he could test your relationships through various circumstances."

"Who?" Neji whispered. Shikamaru was silent, just staring at his knees.

"Hidan is the one that is currently using Shikamaru. You see, Shikamaru is a psychic," Ino said simply.

Shikamaru's head snapped up, bewildered. "A _what_?" he asked, appalled. "Ino, I'm a human being. Okay?"

"Yes. But like a witch, you're channeling the power of a demon," Ino explained. "See, someone far earlier in your generation decided to trade with Hidan once. He traded so he could become a psychic. Hidan gave him that ability, and in return he took lives, and channeled himself through that person to collect the 'payment' for his ability. Unfortunately, he obviously didn't know what the payment was."

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked quietly.

"In order; A father figure, two random females, and a brother figure," Ino said softly.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "W…Wait…"

"Yes; Asuma. TenTen's mother. Temari's mother. And Neji," Ino said quietly.

"N…No, I didn't…" Shikamaru looked scared, suddenly. "I didn't do that!" he said loudly.

"It's not your fault, Shikamaru. But yes. You did do that," Ino said.

"…I-I…It was _my_…?" Shikamaru was beyond words, sitting there and staring at Ino.

"Shikamaru killed my mom…?" TenTen whispered. "Not me?" She couldn't believe it either. Neji was beside himself with frustration. And Temari was staring at her lap.

"Yes," Ino said harshly, and Shikamaru's hands formed fists.

" …I…" He swallowed hard. "…I killed Asuma…" he whispered.

"Yes," Ino said. "But it's not your fault. You didn't want to. You didn't mean to. But it's because you didn't know of the trade that Hidan came to take each life."

"Wait," Neji said, staring at Ino. "My dad…"

"…was the brother figure of Shikaku…" Ino said grimly. "Just as you are to Shikamaru. Unfortunately, Shikaku didn't know of the trade until his father died, his mother died, and your mother died, Neji. But that's when he saw Hidan killing Hizashi, and he started the hunt for him. Of course, he didn't think Hidan would use his son."

Neji grit his teeth. "Shikaku…killed my dad…?" he ground out.

"Unknowingly. Unwillingly," Ino said. "This has been going on for generations. The psychic ability is passed on to each Nara son. Until Hidan is finally killed."

"But demons shouldn't be alive for that long," Neji said, shaking his head. "It doesn't make sense! Someone should have killed him by now!"

"They've tried," Ino said. "But that's the point for which he collects the lives. He uses them, so that he may be immortal."

"You're saying that by getting those fucking _headaches_ every night, Shikamaru's only helping that son of a bitch stay alive?!" Neji asked furiously, glaring at Ino. "You're saying that by killing Asuma and two helpless women, and almost killing me, Shikamaru has to suffer while Hidan gets a gift?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Ino said softly. "While Shikaku thinks he's getting closer, he's only getting farther away. And you, Shikamaru, have Hidan right under your nose. But he's impossible to kill. That's just how it is."

Ino narrowed her eyes as they all stared at Shikamaru, who's eyes were closed and was staring down at his knees. "He's talking to you now, isn't he?" Ino asked loudly, steadily. TenTen blinked. What was she talking about? Ino leaned forward, staring at Shikamaru intensely. "What's he telling you…?"

Shikamaru opened his eyes, and suddenly, they were a black that TenTen had only seen once; in the eyes of a demon.

He smirked.

"Thank you."

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

When Shikamaru woke, he was lying on his back on something soft, and a little too cushiony. It was dark, very dark, and the first thing he felt was the worst pain in his head he'd ever had. He inhaled sharply as it hit him in harsh surprise, and he only succeeded in coughing from the dust.

He shot up to a sitting position, panting, and made a loud noise of pain, holding onto his head with both hands and ducking it down. "Gah...god damn it…" he ground out through his teeth.

"Look up."

He did, but only in shock at the voice that was suddenly to the left of him, and he immediately felt a hand there and felt much better.

He blinked and glanced sideways. "Temari?"

She smirked. "Good morning, sunshine."

"What the hell happened…?" he muttered, getting his breath back and looking around; they were still in Ino's living room, and it was very dark, probably late at night. He could see Neji asleep in an armchair, and TenTen curled up on one of the large couches.

Temari sat down next to him thoughtfully. "Hidan came and spoke right through you," she said. "Then you just kinda collapsed."

"I don't…remember anything…" he said, turning so he sat straight on the couch. "All I remember is Ino…explaining, and then it was just…black. Like I fell asleep or something…"

"You didn't have any of your little psychic nightmares?" Temari asked.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "It was…nothing."

"Well, Ino says that's a good sign," Temari said. "She's asleep now, in her bedroom. She said to leave you alone, but I can't let you have that fit and waking those two up."

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"A half demon doesn't need too much," she said, shrugging. "I usually don't get to sleep until midnight, I just listen to music and…" She paused. "…think."

He watched her. "What did you do to…?"

"Demon trick." She grinned. "Aint it handy? I used it all the time for Gaara and Kankerou. Any serious pain, and I absorb it."

"Wait, what?!" He stared at her, bewildered. "You…fucking _absorb_ it? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Calm down," she said, waving her hand at him carelessly. "I don't feel pain like you do, remember? Even though it does hurt like hell, I can handle it if it's supernatural. If it's not supernatural, I feel pain a little worse. But this is, so it's okay. The human in me is having issues, though…" She grimaced.

Shikamaru sighed. "Did Ino tell Neji…?"

Temari lost the look and nodded sadly. "Yeah. And he's…um, pissed to say the least."

"Well he's not gonna change my mind," Shikamaru said stubbornly.

"Well, Ino said it probably wouldn't work," Temari said. "If you go against the payment, you'll be used as payment instead. Unless…" She watched him carefully. "…you kill Hidan…"

Shikamaru frowned. "He's immortal."

"Yes. But there are ways of taking that ability out of him," Temari said simply, staring at him meaningfully. "There are ways of killing him, for good."

"Does…Ino know these ways…?" he asked slowly.

"No. But she said there are ways, and apparently you're a genius." She laughed. "I guess she's just telling us to figure it out ourselves. She said just looking for a trail of demons is the best way to figure out where Hidan is."

Shikamaru slowly gained a smirk. "Huh. I guess that works…" He cracked his knuckles and glanced at Neji and TenTen, sleeping.

Neji was, of course, a great help in this. Where as Shikamaru knew everything about geometry and calculus and things like that, and he could make up a plan on the spot, Neji knew things about demons and monsters that would definitely boost them up.

TenTen was getting stronger, and he could tell. It was all for Neji. Everything was for Neji. And if ever they ran into something that would hurt Neji, it would be dead in a second. TenTen was fierce when she had to be, and was, for sure, brave for her age.

Temari, well, had proven herself, he could say.

He glanced at Temari now.

He had decided.

"How does New York sound?"

Temari grinned.

14

_**disclaimer: **_I do not own _Naruto_ or _Supernatural_.  
**_new song: _**_Highway to Hell_ by _AC/DC_. Hellz yes, fucking AC/DC.  
_**warning: **_Any negative remarks regarding religion _will_ be marked as _abuse_.  
This is explained in the _A/N_ in _Chapter 3_ _(Curse)_ of this story.

Again, don't worry, Neji and TenTen will have _huge_ parts later on. Especially TenTen. You'll see. And so, we're back to the fun demon hunting! Next, werewolves! You guys can guess who I'm using for _that_ little arc. Along those lines, most of you actually guessed right; Ino. I shouldn't give so many hints. ;)

_thanks for reading!  
_

_xmarachanx_


	15. Chains

equilibrium

15

_Don't need reason, don't need rhyme  
Aint nothing I would rather do  
Going down, party time  
My friends are gonna be there too_

"Dude. This is not what I expected." Temari turned to Shikamaru and placed her hands on her hips angrily. "This, Shikamaru, is the biggest rip-off I have ever encountered."

Shikamaru sighed. "Would you calm down?" he muttered. He and Temari were walking out of a gas station together, dressed in warm clothing. It was cold, and snow flurries were pinching their already red cheeks. He sighed as he looked out at the parking lot, his breath fogging in front of him. The black pavement was completely void of cars.

"No, I will _not_ calm down," Temari said grouchily, hugging her jacket to herself against the chilly wind that swept past them, a small plastic bag dangling from her right hand. She removed her hair from its ponytail, warming her neck as best as she could. "When you said New York, and vampires, I thought for sure it was going to be something fun, you know? I mean, like New York _city_! But no, no, you drag me to _Arietta_, with a population of apparently 270. '_Or lower_.'"

"Yes, and compared to Phoenix's population of two million I suppose that's a shocker," Shikamaru exaggerated glumly. His hands were stuck in the pockets of his jacket as he watched the road in front of the gas station. It was empty, he half expected a tumbleweed to come bouncing through the slush. Across from them was just a field, the same to the left and right of them. A field that in the summer was probably filled with lush crops, now filled with snow and mud. Other than that it was just white, their vision obstructed by fog and snow. "You know that where I grew up the population was something in the four hundreds?"

"Seriously?" Temari scoffed. "That's weak."

"Yeah, well, everyone knew everyone. I found it pretty cozy."

"Everyone knew me I Phoenix," Temari defended herself, facing him.

Shikamaru looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "That's 'cause you're you."

She stared at him curiously, and he had to stop himself from laughing out loud as he faced the road again, feeling a little more cheerful; he loved confusing her.

"Yes! Finally!"

Shikamaru sighed in relief as well as the familiar Chevy Impala came swerving into the gas station parking lot and stopped in front of them, making fresh tracks in the snow. He climbed in the passenger seat as Temari got in the back, and he slammed the door shut quickly to stop the cold from getting in.

He looked next to him at Neji as he took his hands out of his pockets in relief. "Did you guys get food for us?" Neji asked hopefully.

"Yup, right here," Temari said, holding out a plastic bag. Shikamaru heard TenTen's squeal of delight as Temari handed over a bag of candy and a pack of Tic-Tac's. She threw a bag of chips to Neji and Shikamaru each, then grabbed some doughnuts for herself.

"What about you guys?" Shikamaru asked. "Did you find anything?"

Neji nodded, starting the car again. "Yeah, it's a shitty place and it don't take credit cards, but it's cheap and it'll do."

"Aw, you can't use your fake credit cards here? You poor bastard."

Neji glared at Shikamaru as they drove down the skinny road, snowflakes flinging themselves at the windshield. "Fuck off," he retaliated very simply. He turned back to the windshield. "And you should know that I found another way to get the cash."

muirbiliuqe

"C'mon, keep handing it over."

"Nice, Shikamaru," Neji said with a grin.

TenTen laughed under her breath as she watched Shikamaru being given a huge pile of cash from a very frustrated older man. He sat, Neji looking over his shoulder and TenTen and Temari part of the crowd around them, at a bar, gambling a man out of his wallet. It was about six-thirty in the afternoon, and it was already pitch black outside.

Neji eagerly took the money, stuffing it in his already bulging wallet. Shikamaru's own wallet was too full to carry any more cash, and TenTen was sure they'd soon start using her and Temari's purses.

Temari was shaking her head exasperatedly, on the other hand, as she watched the spectacle. Shikamaru kept giving her smug looks, and she'd just flick him off; TenTen suspected he just liked showing off in front of her, and she hated anyone looking better than her for even a brief second.

"I guess that's what popularity can do to you, huh Temari?" TenTen asked with a smile.

Temari said nothing. TenTen decided she couldn't hear her.

"Heh. Who knew Five Card Draw could get so much cash?" Shikamaru asked, turning around on the stool and cracking his knuckles, watching as Neji finally stuffed the last of the money into his wallet.

"Don't get too full of yourself, the only reason that guy lost is because TenTen's here," Temari said quickly.

TenTen waved with a smile as the man left the bar, void of money. Shikamaru shrugged. "I never said it was cause of me," he said to Temari calmly. "When did you learn how to direct your curse to specific people, TenTen?"

"Same time I learned how to control my demon," she said. "It's really hard, but I'll do it for Neji."

"And look how much it got us," Neji said eagerly.

"So we have enough for a couple days…" Shikamaru said thoughtfully. "And that means we can research on the deaths that have been popping up all over the news from this place."

"So what's a vampire like anyways?" Temari asked. "You guys said that the deaths look a lot like a vampire's doing. How would we recognize it?"

"A vampire…" Neji frowned. "Usually they're real sadistic. They try to seduce anyone they can to come with them, and when they get 'em alone they…" He nodded his head to the side. "Well, you know…"

Temari suddenly made a sort of hissing noise as another man pressed past her purposefully. She'd been getting looks from every male in the bar, and people kept trying to buy drinks for her. She controlled her irritation and turned to the others impatiently "Alright, this is gonna be hard; so far _everyone's_ tryin' to seduce-_ow_!"

Temari and a redheaded man fell to the ground, the redhead landing on top of her and catching himself with his hands.

Temari looked over at TenTen from under the man's arms, glaring at her. She mouthed '_Bitch_' very clearly. TenTen gasped in horror. "I'm so sorry!" she squeaked. "I lost control of it!"

"Whoa…Uh, sorry about that," the man on top of her said hurriedly, getting off of her, jumping to his feet, and holding a hand down to her, all in one fluid movement. He was very graceful, poised, and pale. But his eyes were foreboding, and TenTen did not want to look straight into them."Guess I had one too many to drink."

Temari accepted his hand, sighing and pulling her hair from her face. "No, don't worry about it. It's not your fault." She grit her teeth a bit. "Trust me…" she muttered, taking his hand.

He lifted her to her feet easily and looked her over. TenTen winced; another man to start hitting on her. She sometimes felt a little jealous that everyone seemed to want to get in bed with her.

"Okay, take a picture or beat it, buddy," Temari muttered after a while, scowling.

The man laughed, however, and smiled at her. "Sorry, sorry. I just came over here to test this guy at Five Card Stud, but I didn't expect to see someone so…"

All of a sudden the back of his hand brushed against Temari's cheek. She blinked in surprise, and he murmured, "…lovely."

Temari raised an eyebrow, getting ready to step back. "Um…"

"My name's Yamu," he said softly, his eyes searching hers very sensually, his fingers slowly curling to cup her face. "Yamu Tobu. I'd love to know yours…"

His hand was shoved back to him, along with a very harsh curse word, in five seconds, and ten seconds later Temari was out the door, muttering under her breath furiously about 'people' and idiots being way too forward for their own good, ignoring the men whistling past her and staring at her ass.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Neji shared a meaningful look.

The redheaded man sighed almost piteously and sauntered away to a group of his friends. As he passed TenTen, she inhaled briefly, and could smell the strong scent of cinnamon. She watched him leave, then looked between Shikamaru and Neji. "Hey, was that guy-?"

The two older men suddenly started walking away very quickly without a word to her, and she had to run to keep up.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

Onions.

A ring of onions was hanging on the doorknob.

And Temari could barely believe it.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, staring at Shikamaru as he finished hanging it up. She was in the room they'd rented at the hotel, standing in front of a bed. TenTen and Neji watched from the hallway. The hotel was only one story, and probably the most rickety thing Temari had ever been inside of.

"I'm not," Shikamaru replied. "Now sit down and shut up."

"This is like from some sort of cliché horror story!" Temari cried, only sitting down in exasperation.

"Yeah, well, those stories have to come from somewhere, right?" Shikamaru asked with a shrug. "Calm down, this is for your own good. I'm only tryin' to make sure you're safe."

She blushed briefly. "Thanks, but I don't think I need this much security, Shikamaru…" He said nothing, and opened the door, checking to see that the onions didn't fall off. Around the room were devils traps drawn with red chalk, and charms were hanging on the windows. He turned to her when he was finished. "Alright. We'll be in the hallway, if _anything_ happens, you call out for us _immediately_. We'll come as soon as we can."

"I am _not_ going to sit in here by myself!" Temari insisted angrily.

"Then make up an imaginary friend."

"I'm _not_ being hunted by _vampires_!"

"Believe whatever you want, I'm not stopping you."

"This isn't a manner of religion! You don't have to be so scared about me, okay? I'm not pathetic! Stop treating me like a princess!"

"Isn't that what every woman wants?"

"Not me!"

"Alright, then. Would you like us to feed you through the window?"

"…Wha…?...I will _kill_ you, Shikamaru!" That was the last thing she got through to him before he closed the door on her, laughing fondly under his breath. She stared after him, then groaned, hugging her knees to herself as she sat in the hotel room, alone on the bed in a circle of salt.

This was definitely unnecessary. But she was smiling a bit all the same.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Why did it have to strike _us_?" Shikamaru asked as they sat crouched against the wall in the hallway. Their guns were in their pockets, and they were waiting. For what and when, they did not know, but apparently, to TenTen, they were waiting. "And why did it have to strike us _immediately_?"

"Doesn't matter why," Neji said darkly. "All that matters is that it's happening. I mean, _vampires_, Shikamaru…You remember that time we found a whole hive of them?"

"Yeah…" Shikamaru grimaced. "Probably the bloodiest day of my life. We barely got out alive…"

"Is that why you guys are so afraid of vampires?" TenTen asked politely. "Because you fought them once befo-"

"Damn, this is gonna _suck_." Neji interrupted her. "They never lose a scent, never stop searching…" He groaned and rested his head against his knees.

"This is gonna be such a pain in the ass…" Shikamaru agreed.

"I'm probably gonna get another fucking scar…We're screwed, man. This time we don't have Shikaku, and the vampire already touched Temari…we're _screwed_!"

"It's alright, Neji. You'll find a way through this. I know you can." TenTen reached over to try and consol him, but his head snapped up before she could touch him.

"Wait! The charms that we put on the window, are you sure they're the right ones?"

"Hm? Yeah, they had the little triangles around the edges…"

TenTen retracted her hand and stuffed it in her lap with the other one. She bit her lip. "So…what's the difference between charms?"

"Gah, I have a headache already," Neji muttered. TenTen stared at him in confusion.

"Hmm…" Shikamaru pondered. "Hey, think one of us can go get a beer or somethin'?"

"Nah, too dangerous," Neji said. "None of us should go anywhere on our own."

"Gah. This is gonna be a long night," Shikamaru said, heaving a sigh. He looked at the door, as if he could see Temari behind it. "Wish we could have seen it coming."

"Yeah, well…" Neji suddenly glanced at TenTen, and she smiled at him hopefully. "It was TenTen's fault and no one else's, so we don't need to get all angry at each other. If Yamu hadn't tripped and fell on top of her, he never would've touched her."

"…My fault…?" TenTen asked quietly, drooping again. Neji said nothing, and she looked down at her lap. "Sorry…" Again, Neji said nothing, and neither did Shikamaru, the two just stared at the door determinedly.

"Um…" she started. "Neji…?"

"Oh, TenTen," Neji said suddenly, and she looked up at him quickly.

"You could go get us a beer, right?"

She stared at him.

"Go get one, TenTen," Neji ordered.

TenTen's heart seemed to sink. "Um…It's…across the street, right?" TenTen asked simply. Knowing that it was snowing, freezing cold, and the middle of the night. And they were being hunted by vampires.

"Yeah, yeah…" Neji said distractedly, obviously not knowing what she had asked.

TenTen stood slowly. "Two?"

And she only had so much money left. She'd be spending all of it on beers for those two."

"Yep, two. Go on."

"Yes sir."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

Shikamaru stared at his cell phone, at the emails lined one on top of the other. He had a couple from random people he missed, a bunch from Sai, and the majority from Chouji. He read one from Chouji, now, with a bit of a smile curving his lips.

**So the road trip's going well? That's good. You do know that everyone's wondering where the fuck you really are, right? You're gonna have to tell us someday.**

**Either way, all of us can't wait till you get back. Our new teacher's a bitch, and we could use someone like you to brighten things up around here. Seriously, her name's Anko, and she looks like a fucking porcupine. **

"What're you reading that's making you laugh so much, Shikamaru?"

"Shut up, Neji."

**She has a porcupine's temper too. I think she should be a drill sergeant instead of a physics teacher.**

**That's about it. Keep me updated, man. I wanna make sure you're okay since you-know-what. Sai and I wanna wake you up each morning with beer bottles again, so come back soon, alright?**

**- Fat-ass**

**PS: You dare to actually call me that and I'll personally travel across the country and kick your sorry ass. That was a joke regarding nostalgia. Alright? Don't you fucking laugh at that.**

"Seriously, Shikamaru, that's getting annoying."

Shikamaru looked up at Neji glowering. "One it's none of your business, two stop ruining my good mood, three I'm just reading emails from my friends."

"You still keep in contact with them, huh?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked warily.

"I dunno, I mean…You can't have relationships in this business. You know that, right?" Shikamaru said nothing, but Neji continued all the same. "The only people you can trust are yourself, your family, and fellow hunters. Sometimes you can't even trust them. So just look out for yourself, and try not to-"

"Alright, I get it, Neji," Shikamaru said loudly, interrupting him.

Neji paused. "…I just don't wanna see you get hurt, man…" he said.

Shikamaru glanced up at him and down to his cell phone again. "I know…"

"Then why do you keep putting yourself in danger?" Neji asked softly. "It's been about a week since you sold your soul, and since then every night I can hear you…"

Shikamaru closed his eyes, listening to Neji. Why did he have to bring up that subject again? They'd already talked it out, deciding that their best chance was to find Hidan. He wasn't supposed to bring it up again.

"I can hear you talking, and it keeps me up all night, Shikamaru. I can't _sleep_ dude. You're scaring me."

"I'm scaring myself," Shikamaru mumbled.

"Then why did you do it…?" Neji demanded gently, staring at him. Shikamaru looked up at him, and saw his pearly eyes pleading with him to understand. "You don't _have_ to…" Neji whispered fiercely. "I'll take it. I don't mind…"

"You don't know what you're-"

"I don't care if I die, Shikamaru…" Neji interrupted him earnestly. He leaned forward. "You can trade my soul in. Just pay up-"

"Shut _up_, Neji, I already made up my mind."

"You can change it…!"

They both stopped when they heard voices, but it was only a couple passing down the other hall. They waited till the couple was out of earshot, but by then Shikamaru had tuned Neji out, and Neji knew it was no use to keep trying.

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

TenTen pictured snowflakes as soft and gentle as they landed on her skin. She was used to the cold, so she didn't mind as she crossed the parking lot, feet splashing the slush and mud up onto her jeans, which grew soaked from the ankle up. Little drops of mud splattered her shoes, and the snow was getting into her eyes, which she blinked rapidly. But she could still see that fluffy, cottony vision that she forced herself to believe.

How she wished Neji could feel the same thing in the snow. But no, he hated the cold, the snow. He wasn't used to it like she was. But she still wanted Neji to feel happiness. Every kind of happiness there was. And this was it.

She was smiling as she looked up at the sky. The streetlamps illuminated the snow, which was falling faster and faster in what was turning into a blizzard. The snowflakes were gold and they landed on her cheeks and hair, melting there and getting a small giggle out of her. If she was five again she'd stick her tongue out and taste the crystals. But holding out her hand was good enough, feeling the ice melt and stick to her palms.

The wind sometimes blew the gusts of snow in little circles, and they got harsher and then gentler as she trudged on across the street. It was empty, and very dark. She could see the light of the bar very much in the distance. But she was going to go on, and she wasn't scared. In fact, she felt very pleasant. It was so nice outside.

"I wish Neji could see this with me…" TenTen whispered to herself as she walked, staring with a smile at the snow falling thick and slow over the land, starting to cover things in a white blanket. She felt a little lonely, and she talked to herself; like she used to when she was alone in her house in the dark and cold, those long nights when her mother had to work and she had to keep herself awake. "I know he wouldn't want to…But I wish he could…"

"He won't be able to. Not with you."

She gasped in surprise and turned around, staring. Her eyes widened. Suddenly the snow was biting her skin again, cold and angry.

That voice was right in her ear.

She turned around on the spot, staring around at everything. Nothing. There was no one there.

She gulped and fingered the cold metal of the gun in her jacket pocket as she slowly walked backwards in a circle, staring around. She wasn't even near a building. She was just in the middle of the street, across from the field that led up to the bar. The hotel was far behind her.

"Am…I hearing things…?" she wondered out loud.

"Sorry, miss. But no. You're not."

She felt arms wrap around her waist, and the smell of cinnamon filled her nostrils.

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

It was twelve midnight.

Temari stared at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The numbers 12:00 glowed out to her in a brilliant green marquee. How she dreaded those four innocent digits just sitting there, burning neon into her eyes.

She was still here, and she had been here since ten o' clock at night.

It was twelve midnight, and Temari was tired of this.

"That's so fucking it," she muttered, and she stood up, not caring if she wrecked the salt circle and in fact not caring about anything as she walked towards the door.

The door, of course, had other plans, and slammed open before she could reach it. She was face with the muzzle of a gun, and she stared at Neji, aiming it right at her head.

"We heard movement!" he said, businesslike.

"Wow, you need to calm your reflexes, man," Shikamaru said, coming up behind him and lowering the gun. He glanced at Temari. "What happened?"

"What are you talking about 'what happened'?" Temari asked angrily. "I've been sitting here for three hours, and I haven't been able to move. What are you guys playing at? The vampire's obviously not coming for me!"

"Temari, do you know how a vampire hunts?" Neji demanded, looking around the room. "It touches your skin, and that's how it gets your scent. Once it gets your scent it will _never_ stop until it kills you, or at least gets your blood! It will _never_ let you go!"

"Right," Shikamaru said with a nod. "You gotta kill it before it kills-"

"Where's TenTen?" Temari interrupted them.

Shikamaru and Neji both paused, then chanted, "What?"

Temari stared at them appalled. "Are you _joking_?!"

"Oh!" Shikamaru clapped his hands together. "She went to get us some beers."

"Oh. Yeah, that's right," Neji confirmed.

Temari could not close her mouth. The two men seemed calm at first, but then their expressions slowly changed.

It was the middle of the night.

There was a blizzard with temperatures less than twenty degrees raging on.

The streets were empty and dark with very weak streetlamps.

TenTen was alone with only one gun that had two bullets left in it.

There was a vampire that knew where they were.

"Shit…" Shikamaru whispered.

"_Shit?!_" Temari screamed. "That's _all_ you can _say_?!"

"I can't believe I…" Neji gasped.

"How long has she been gone?!" Temari shouted impatiently.

"Um, like…" Shikamaru's eyes grew wide. "…An hour…?"

"An -?!" Temari couldn't finish her sentence. "You _idiots_! What the hell were you _thinking_?!"

"It's not my fault, Neji was the one that suggested it!" Shikamaru snapped, holding up his hands defensively. "And I wasn't really paying attention!"

"But you still let it happen!" Temari snapped. "Neji how could you make her do that?! You know her; she does _everything_ you _say_ without fucking _question_! I doubt she even hesitated to go, in fact I bet she left with a huge smile on her face! You complete jackass!"

"Listen, you can yell at me later, aright?!" Neji said quickly, backing up. "I know I deserve it! But for now we gotta go look for her!"

"Ah, shit…" Shikamaru said, shaking his head as they flew out the room and down the hall. "She's so freakin' helpless…!"

"I hope she's okay, god I hope she's okay…" Temari agreed, sounding scared.

Neji said nothing as he ran, but his mind was obviously working furiously. Temari watched him, and felt a loathing, temporary hatred for the man. She _hoped_ he was feeling as bad as he looked.

muirbiliuqe

TenTen remembered she once found some long metal chains in her backyard when she was a little girl, and all the other girls that came over to her house would pretend they'd be tied up to a tree, pleading for some handsome prince to save them. TenTen would laugh at them, saying that if they weren't strong enough to save themselves then they weren't worthy of a handsome prince. The other girls would just ignore her after that, and then they'd drag her into their foolish games of 'House' and invite her to be the servant, as punishment for mocking them. She'd refuse, and draw pictures in the dirt with sticks, or make lemonade popsicles to suck on with toothpicks, enjoying the Michigan summer heat while it lasted. Alone, but content.

She decided she'd take it all back now. She wished she had learned how to properly beg for mercy, how to act like a damsel in distress the right way. She didn't know how. She just felt pathetic.

She was chained to a chair, her arms locked behind her, in a basement, somewhere. She didn't know where. She'd just woken up, and this was the first place she could see. Her ankles were tied to the legs of the chair, and she could barely breath, the bonds were so tight around her stomach.

Her jacket was off, and folded in the side of the room neatly. It looked out of place, as the basement was completely empty, except for the iron staircase, the weak light coming from the top of the stairs, and the pipes along the walls and ceiling. And of course her and her jacket.

The first thing she did was try to move the metal that was connecting her to the chair. But she just couldn't do it. She wasn't _that_ good with her power yet. Next, she tried to summon her demon. Couldn't do that, either.

The next thing she tried to do was struggle. She tried to get her hands and arms out of the chains, and get her feet out as well while she was at it. But it wasn't working, and she had to freeze, breathing hard, when she suddenly heard a loud bang from above her.

Then a noise came from the top of the staircase. Footsteps, echoing in the huge iron room and breaking the silence that had before only been broken by TenTen's staggered breaths and the hum of the pipes.

The redheaded man emerged. It was, predictably, him; the same man that had touched Temari's face, the one that they'd been suspicious of in the first place.

He looked around the stairs as he descended and seemed pleasantly shocked to see her staring at him very warily. She could see the handle of a large knife in his pocket, and a strangely designed iron bowl in his hand, and when he smiled, she saw sharp teeth peeking out.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, stepping to the ground and walking over to her. She bit her lip as he advanced, keeping an eye on the knife. "I didn't expect you to wake up so early." He stood in front of her, and she braced herself, chest rising and falling rapidly as he leaned down, but he only set the bowl on the ground with a clunk.

He smiled at her again as he straightened up. "My name is Sasori. I believe we've met before." TenTen said nothing, staring at him. She should have figured his real name wasn't Yamu. He cocked his head to the side. "Is something wrong?"

TenTen couldn't help it; she laughed, very breathlessly. "Wh-What do you think?"

He chuckled as well, joining her as if he'd been invited. She stopped abruptly, but he continued, sighing to a halt. "Ah, you're cute," he said cheerfully, looking her over. He suddenly leaned forward and pressed the back of his hand to her cheek. She froze, feeling rather tingly; his hand was smooth, and cool. It felt like Neji's…

"You're cold…" he murmured, eyes searching hers. She tried to blink but couldn't, it was as if she was paralyzed. By what, she didn't know. "I wish I could return your jacket."

"Why can't you…?" she mumbled distractedly.

"Because I need your skin…" he whispered, face getting closer to her. She stared into his eyes, seeing the strange amber color swirling, smoky and sensual. "I need very much…of your skin…" he breathed. She could smell cinnamon again before he pressed his lips to hers.

She was stunned for only a while as his fingers trailed to her face, holding her jaw very gently in his palms, but then she felt a hatred and a fire she'd never before felt in the pit of her stomach, boiling up and escaping with one sharp movement.

She knocked her head against his very violently, making sure not to care about the pain it caused her and only caring about her need for him to feel pain.

He stumbled backwards, one hand to his face, and TenTen regained her breath.

"Get a life…" she growled up at him as he stood there, holding onto his face. She was breathing hard, and her chest was heaving as if she'd run a mile, because she knew what she had done wrong.

He slowly dropped his hand from his face, and it changed with his fingers to a blank expression. His eyes, instead of liquid, turned as hard as stone.

"_Your_ life sounds good…" he said darkly. And suddenly he pulled the knife from his pocket.

TenTen's eyes widened, staring up at the shiny silver blade.

'_Neji…Neji…_'

He picked up the bowl as well, and stepped towards her again. He leaned down to stare straight into her eyes, and her heart started a rapid beating as the lust returned to his own eyes once more.

"You're so pretty…" he murmured. "What's your name…?"

"TenTen…" she said stiffly, heartbeat racing. "Don't forget it. I'm gonna be the one to kill you some day…"

He smiled. "We'll see…" he said softly, breathe cool and gusty against her cheek.

Yet again he kissed her, but this was much harder. She could _feel_ her lips bruise. His hand moved up to grip her throat, not squeezing but just there, tilting her head to the side. Getting better access to her mouth, he forced her lips open, tongue sweeping inside.

It was her first real kiss, and she did _not_ like it.

"Nn…!" she tried, but that only seemed to encourage him.

His hands moved to her shirt, slowly lifting it up, and then, she felt a terrible pain.

Her eyes widened and she cried out into Sasori's mouth. She felt something wet and hot pour down her stomach; her blood.

Sasori held the bowl up to her stomach, letting the blood drip in as he continued kissing her, up and down her neck and jaw, then back to her lips as he suddenly tore her shirt off of her, throwing it to the side in a pile of ripped fabric. He didn't bother with her bra, but moved the knife to her collarbone.

'_Neji…Neji…please, stop him, Neji…_'

She closed her eyes, feeling the tears squeeze past her lashes, as he slashed there as well, and he moved the bowl to there as well. All this time, he just kept kissing her, not giving her a chance to breath properly so her chest heaved up and down. His fingers trailed in the blood from her stomach as his other hand held the bowl firmly beneath her collarbone.

After a while of this he straightened up shortly and dipped a finger in the blood that had accumulated in the bowl. He took his blood coated finger and suddenly spread the blood around her lips. She pressed her lips shut tightly, but she couldn't stop the taste from coming in, and the irony smell that made her go dizzy.

'_No…Neji, don't let him…_'

Sasori leaned forward and kissed her slowly, then licked her lips, tongue sweeping around to collect the blood.

"Mmm…you taste delicious, TenTen…" he said, breaking the silence which before had only been broken by TenTen's whimpers and the wet drips of her blood.

TenTen stared at him, trying to control her breathing again and ignore the pain. She felt herself getting weak from loss of blood and her heartbeat accelerating dangerously. He was tilting her head to the side, and she could feel his breath on her bare neck, knew his teeth were very close filled with the venom that would kill her.

'_Neji…you're not coming…are you…?_'

But even so, she struggled to look to the side and give him the darkest look she could muster.

"Get…a…life…" she repeated furiously.

He stared at her, and for a while, his mask broke.

He seemed captured by her. His eyes were huge, and he nearly dropped the bowl and knife. His mouth and chin were covered with blood, and he stumbled backwards, wiping them and just staring at her, lips parting.

TenTen watched him, confused, but kept her look; it seemed to be working, in some way…

"Your…eyes…" he whispered. "What are your eyes…?" She had no idea what he was talking about, but he didn't seem to understand either. He shook his head. "You're…You…" He backed away, then regained himself again.

"You're my pet, TenTen…" he said, narrowing his eyes sternly. "From now on, you're going to be my pet. And you're not leaving my home. I won't kill you. But you're still mine."

He was retreating, running up the stairs and fleeing through the door, which he slammed behind him, letting the rest of the light fade away.

TenTen was frozen, and she felt her blood roll over her bare skin, goose bumps dance along her arms. She regained her breath, and finally, she couldn't help herself.

"Neji…Neji…" she sobbed. But no one was coming. She tasted her blood, tasted her tears; salty and tangy and irony. "Neji…please help me…Neji…Neji…come…" she whispered, over and over again. Alone, bleeding, and chained.

Even though she knew she was not worthy.

15

_**a/n: **_Gah! Sorry, werewolves was a mistype. I meant to say vampires, obviously. Werewolves come later. By the way, if you, reader, mention anything about the piece of shit known as Twilight…

…I'll kill you. :)

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	16. Fate

equilibrium

16

_I'm on the highway to hell  
No stop signs, speed limits  
Nobody's gonna slow me down  
Like a wheel, gonna spin it  
Nobody's gonna mess me around_

"Alright, thank you."

The hotel door closed, and Neji lost the casual look for a glare.

"Dick."

He turned his back on the hotel room – the last hotel room that anyone actually answered.

Neji grit his teeth angrily as he walked swiftly down the hall of their hotel, over to their room. So far, no one knew Yamu Tobu, or had seen a brunet, teenage girl wearing the crimson jacket he'd described. They'd searched outside and around the bar and the hotel. Her cell phone was turned off, they'd tried calling it many times and left her messages, and the snow that had fallen in the time she'd been missing had covered any footsteps, or even tire tracks on the road.

But Neji was not going to give up on TenTen.

He opened the door to their hotel room, and walked in on Shikamaru lying on his back, typing on his laptop, and Temari sitting next to him and leaning against his legs as she talked into her cell phone.

"Yeah…okay, thanks." She snapped the phone shut as Neji closed the door behind him. "I was just talking to the police," she explained, answering his questioning stare. "Don't get me wrong, I think they're about as pointless as you do. But I thought putting out a missing person's report would help…"

Neji sighed and sat on the other side of Shikamaru. "I don't think it'll do much good…" he said darkly. "Yamu Tobu might not even live here."

"But it'll get a lead on him at least," Temari pointed out. She looked at the phone in her hands. "I wish you guys would have paid more attention to her at least. You're both such assholes."

"_Handsome_ assholes," Shikamaru spoke up.

Temari shoved him impatiently. "Shut up, you can't joke about this! We don't have any clues, any lead…For all we know TenTen could be dead already."

At that, something seemed to snap inside of Neji. While before he'd been thinking deeply about TenTen's whereabouts and vaguely listening to their argument, now he felt some frustration boiling inside of him.

"Shut up!" he growled in Temari's direction. She and Shikamaru both stared at him. "Don't talk like that. She's not dead!"

"She could be, Neji, and it would be all your fault!" Temari retorted, not about to take that from him after what he'd done.

"Oh shut up, both of you," Shikamaru interrupted them.

Neji only turned his anger on to him, feeling furious and reckless. "No, _you_ stop being a careless _jackass_! You're just _sitting_ there while TenTen's in who-knows-where, in the care of a fucking _vampire_!" Shikamaru said nothing, and Neji's hands formed fists. "You're just emotionless, aren't you?! You don't care about your own life, why should you care about TenTen?!"

Shikamaru just stared straight at his laptop, and Temari froze, one hands trailing up to her lips. But Neji didn't even flinch, though he knew he was saying something wrong. He just didn't know if he was talking about TenTen's life, or Shikamaru's life.

He stood up in his madness. "Why aren't you doing anything?!" he yelled at Shikamaru forcibly. "The rest of us are trying, why aren't you?!"

"Because I'm three steps ahead of you."

Neji paused. "…What…?" he asked slowly, confusion overwhelming his anger temporarily.

Shikamaru sighed. "I found an article online regarding the name Yamu Tobi; Yamu Tobu _is _a real name. But he's dead."

Neji's eyes widened, and Temari said, "Dead?"

"Yup. Found dead from loss of blood by a wound on the neck. There was a court case for his murder, in which his mother, needing a way to vent, mindlessly blamed an innocent friend of his. In the case, the accused was found innocent and the mother was fined for falsely accusing him." Shikamaru closed his laptop. "Since it was a fairly local case, and happened three years ago, I figure that if we ask for it as FBI, we can get a clip of the case, and research into whatever name it is."

Neji stared at Shikamaru, completely appalled. "Why…Why the hell didn't you tell us?!" Neji cried.

"A good reason," Shikamaru said loudly before Neji could jump into action. "You would have flipped out. You would've jumped to conclusions automatically and done something _stupid_ without telling Temari or I, let alone with our consent."

"What makes you think that?!"

"Because you're guilty," Shikamaru said. "I know, alright? It's completely understandable. You're worried about her. I get it. I want kiddo to be okay, too. But guilt can get yourself killed." Shikamaru paused, as Neji calmed himself. "So I suggest calming down and just…like, basking in your guilt for a while." He laughed lightheartedly as Neji sat down slowly. "Trust me, it's for your own good. When it comes to you and TenTen, you really gotta learn some self control."

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

TenTen couldn't tell if it was still the middle of the night, or morning.

She couldn't sleep, though. It was all the same. She could feel the blood drying against her skin, sticky and damp. She could _smell_ it, sharp and muggy. And she could taste it still, mixed with Sasori's kisses; irony, tangy. It made her shiver every time she swallowed, and she wanted to throw up, but she knew she didn't have the strength to.

It was too dark to see. There was no source of light, so there obviously wasn't a crack at the bottom of the door, which must have been at the top of the staircase that Sasori had escaped up into. There were no lamps or light fixtures, the entire room was just empty. Her breaths echoed back to her eerily, and made her feel alone and isolated.

She was cold. Goosebumps danced along her bare stomach, shoulders, and arms. And she was only in a bra. She knew her shirt was still discarded off to the side, ripped and useless. But her jacket was still folded neatly with her gun and flashlight on the other side of the room.

The chains wrapped around her were too tight, and even if they were loose, she didn't have enough strength to struggle out of them. Her eyelids were heavy, and she kept nodding off and coming back to wakefulness; she didn't want to fall asleep. It was too hard, she was in too much pan. And she didn't want to miss a chance to escape.

She made sure to steady her breathing, and took note of her pulse. Her heartbeat was strong, due to fear and blood loss. But it was considerably better than when Sasori was there. She still felt shaky and nauseous, but she knew she was going to be alright. Her blood was clotting, her wounds healing.

And she could hear very clearly the sound of footsteps above her.

At least she hadn't gone deaf…

She closed her eyes, preparing herself; she'd been thinking things over, and she decided; if Neji wasn't going to come to her, she was going to come to him. No matter what, there had to be a way to control her demon and get out of there. She was _not_ going to be Sasori's pet. And she was _not_ going to leave Neji alone.

The footsteps reached the door, and then the sound of it opening echoed through the iron basement. She winced immediately at the light that burned her eyes, but she strained herself to keep blinking and squinting at the stairs.

Illuminated by the light came Sasori, and TenTen immediately felt terrified. His chest was completely bare and he was barefooted, only in a pair of black sweatpants. He looked foreboding, his face calm and stoic, and his body seemed steel-hard. He was muscular, and she knew she would never stand a chance against him on her own.

We he got in view, she immediately let her head swing down to the side and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She moved her chest slowly up and down, although her heartbeat was steadily speeding up, and waited as the footsteps advanced.

"It's funny, when you pretend to be asleep, TenTen."

She opened her eyes, expecting to see a knife or his teeth coming at her. But instead, held in front of her, was a plate of what looked like buttered toast.

She stared at the plate, then at Sasori, who smiled almost hopefully. He was leaning over like a gentleman, and behind him he held a glass of pure ice water. She opened her dry, cracked lips, confused, and he gave a short chuckle. "It's safe to eat it, trust me. I wouldn't poison you."

She said nothing, just looked back to the plate. He tilted his head to the side. "Well? Do you want some? It's French toast."

TenTen knew that not eating would only make her weaker, she could sense her demon which she'd been calling over and over again draining her energy already. So she nodded, and cleared her throat.

He reached over her suddenly, and she got the same old whiff of cinnamon before he leaned back, and she could feel her arms free.

"You won't leave the chair, your ankles are still chained," Sasori said as she immediately withdrew her arms from around herself and rubbed her wrists and elbows, which were aching and bruised from the chains. "So don't try running away. This is only temporary, so you can eat."

She didn't even react, just grabbed the plate quickly from his hands and touched the toast tentatively. It was warm, and it smelled delicious. She eagerly lifted a piece to her mouth and stuck the end in her mouth. It was even warmer and more delicious than it felt and smelled, and she greedily ate the rest in less than two minutes.

Sasori watched her all the while as she consumed the meal he'd made for her. He chuckled as she finished, and she looked up at him as she swallowed. "I was right, you're adorable," he said cheerfully. "I find myself so fond of you, TenTen."

She said nothing and wiped her finger around the plate, picking up the sticky syrup and crumbs left behind. She licked her fingers clean, and looked up at Sasori. He was still holding the glass of water, and he held it out to her.

"I assume you'd want some…" he said, and she took it. It was cold, with the water accumulating on the side like dew on a flower. She watched her fingerprints stain the glass, the water that dripped off at her touch sliding slowly down. It was cold, and she lifted it to her lips, letting herself drink it.

It didn't taste poisoned or hampered with. It just tasted like pure, cold water, and sensing it was safe, she immediately began to gulp it down.

When she'd had her fill she let the cold water linger between her palms, feeling refreshed, and she looked up yet again at Sasori.

He was staring at her, and he seemed different than the day before. Yesterday he'd been sarcastic, seductive, and hungry. Today he was calm, amused, and thoughtful.

"Is something wrong?" he asked suddenly. "You're not talking." TenTen pressed her lips together tightly. "Say something," he ordered, but it wasn't harsh; it was more like a suggestion.

"What?" TenTen asked almost moodily, and Sasori laughed, happiness returned to him.

"That's good. I'd thought I'd taken your voice last night or something." He sighed, and looked at her seriously. "I'm…very sorry, TenTen," he said suddenly.

"…What…?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She narrowed her eyes almost scornfully. "For kidnapping me, chaining me to a chair, ripping my shirt off, cutting me open, drinking my blood, or keeping me in your basement? Take your pick."

He smiled grimly. "For all of that." He sighed. "I'm a vampire, TenTen. And you're a human. We're different. And yet, last night, I saw something in your eyes."

"Saw what?" she asked slowly, remembering how he'd backed away from her, talking nonsense about her eyes.

"You know how I feel…" he said slowly, staring at her. His gaze, she noticed, was _filled_ with excitement…

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"You're…FBI?"

Shikamaru sighed. "That's exactly what the person at the front desk said," he muttered.

The three of them were in the back of the local police department, talking to a man surrounded by papers and folders. He had a five o'clock shadow and hooded eyes, and not only did he seem suspicious, he didn't seem to want them there at all. Just, as Shikamaru had pointed out, like the person at the front desk.

FBI obviously weren't very welcome in that town.

"Yes, we're FBI," Neji said impatiently.

"Pretty young-looking for FBI, aren't you?"

Shikamaru gave a loud, fake laugh. "Thank you!"

Temari snorted and Neji glared at Shikamaru, then turned to the man again. "Listen, we need a tape of something."

"Recording?" The man turned in his swivel chair to face the computer in front of him. He opened up a file, and as it loaded asked, "You have anything specific to look up? Name, region, street maybe?"

"Name. Yamu Tobu," Neji said.

"Can you spell it?"

Neji immediately turned to Shikamaru, who rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Agent Neji here is illiterate," he said loudly. Neji scowled, and Shikamaru frowned thoughtfully. "Uh…Y-a-m-u, T-o-b-u."

"Alright." They only had to wait a few seconds after he typed it in before the man tapped the screen with one large, bony thumb. "Yup. Case, three years old, stored in our database. Wait here, we have a clip in the back."

"Perfect." He left the room and closed the door. As soon as he was out of earshot Temari burst out laughing.

"_Thank you_?!" she repeated, high-fiving a grinning Shikamaru.

"I say we take it as a compliment," he said with a shrug. He glanced at Neji. "What's your problem, anyways? What's with the ugly-ass look you gave me?"

"That was stupid," Neji muttered. "Quit joking around when TenTen's in trouble."

"Dude, if you can't learn to at least lighten up a little in situations like this then you might as well kill yourself before I die," Shikamaru said seriously. "Life isn't all business, man."

"This is TenTen we're talking about!" Neji said loudly. "She's helpless!'

"Not entirely," Temari corrected him. "You guys thought TenTen and I couldn't do anything, remember? But we changed your minds. What's so different now?"

"Because this is real life," Neji said darkly. "And this is TenTen…"

"This is _all_ real life, Neji!" Temari said, staring at him, bewildered. "What's so different?! What's changed?" She watched him carefully as he turned away, seeming to want to end the conversation. Temari, however, did not. Not now. "Neji, what's changed between you and TenTen, hmm? What are you feeling about her now?" Her eyes were the epitome of suspicion.

Luckily for Neji, the door opened, and the man walked back in with a video tape in his hand. "Here we go, I got the tape," he said, crossing the room and slipping it into the television, turning it on. He sat down in his swivel chair again, and the other three walked closer to the television, leaning over to get a closer look at the fuzzy scene in front of them.

A woman was at the witness stand, speaking to a lawyer, and there was a large audience, a few people crying and a few sitting there stiffly with grim, stiff expressions. But they weren't what the three viewers' eyes were drawn to.

There was only one person on the side of the woman. He was a burly man with flame-red hair, and seemed to have a darker, yet more intriguing aura than the other members of the audience.

Definitely the man that they'd seen.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Who's that?" he demanded automatically, pressing a finger very firmly into the screen in the direction of the vampire.

The man in the chair leaned over and looked at the screen. "Him?! Well that's Sasori, he's a cop! Why?"

Shikamaru quickly placed a hand on Neji's shoulder, calming him. "We think that he can help us out with a case we have."

"What case? I didn't hear of no case."

"Yeah, well, it's an old one that we're re-opening," Shikamaru said simply. "I'd love to inform you of its details but unfortunately we _are_ of government class, and I believe this is not _your_ place to be asking us questions and doubting whether or not we're doing our job correctly. Do you agree?"

Temari looked ready to pop with the laughter she was hiding, and the man, staring at the straight-faced Shikamaru simply nodded calmly.

"So, since you agree with me, you'd also agree that it _is_ your place to be answering all of my questions easily and truthfully." Shikamaru straightened up calmly. "So tell me. Where does Sasori live?"

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"What do you mean I know how you feel…?" TenTen asked slowly, watching Sasori.

He sighed. "Well…I can tell that you've lost someone before." He looked at her carefully. "You have, haven't you?"

"Well…yeah…" TenTen said slowly. "My dad. And my mom."

"So you know exactly how I feel," Sasori said with an nod, as if clarifying something politically interesting.

"You're an orphan?" TenTen asked, suddenly feeling very interested.

"Yes," Sasori said. "Since a very, very young age. I was raised by my grandmother."

"Oh," TenTen said. She stared at him, and he was looking off over her shoulder, eyes clouded over with something strange. She turned the cold glass of water around between her palms. "So…" she said warily, feeling strange starting conversation with this creature. "Were your parents vampires…?"

Sasori glanced at her in surprise, then chuckled. "Ah. No, no. They weren't. I was bitten."

"Did a vampire kill your parents? Then bite you?" TenTen guessed immediately.

Sasori smiled sadly. "TenTen, this is real life. Not some best-selling novel."

TenTen tilted her head to the side. "Then what happened to them…?"

"They both went into war together," Sasori said. "They joined the army. And were both killed in it."

TenTen nodded slowly. "Sorry…"

"It's fine. Of course I got over it, after all I was so young…" Sasori said simply. "But what really struck me was what happened to my grandmother." He leaned an arm behind his neck to massage the back of his head. "See…I was bitten by a vampire. I didn't know I had been, of course. I was…having my first, you know what I mean." TenTen winced a bit, but nodded. He snickered at her reaction. "Yeah, well…She bit me. And, not knowing I was a vampire and thinking I was only experiencing a hangover, I left her the next morning and went home to my grandmother. And, that night, I went mad and killed her."

TenTen watched him as he stared back at her, a smile on his face. His eyes were unreadable, clouded with nostalgia, pain…

"I spent about a year in solitary confinement," he said, his voice using the tone of 'alas'. "I couldn't die, we're immortal unless you shoot us in the heart with rock-salt. I didn't know that. I didn't even know what the hell I was, it took me a while to figure it out. And when I finally did, I decided, that it's just…it."

"What do you mean…just _it_?" TenTen asked warily. She could feel the condensed water dripping down her palms, gliding slowly along her skin.

"It's…_fate_," he said, shrugging. "I mean…Whatever happens, happens. Sure, we can grieve about it. But you understand as well, don't you? Your mother and father…Their deaths were fate. I can see many things, because Hell teaches me. And I can see in your eyes, that you truly get it."

"Get what…?" TenTen asked softly, wiping her wet fingers down along the glass.

"_The inevitable_," Sasori said, eyes staring straight into hers and articulating every letter. "The things that can not be redone, that you couldn't stop in the first place. It's inevitable that we were to meet by my tripping over your beautiful friend you were with, and it's inevitable that I chose you instead of her."

"You…_chose_ me…?" TenTen asked, eyes widening.

"Yes. Sure, compared to her, you're nothing. She's gorgeous, confident, smart. You're insignificant, small, quiet. But…" Sasori was in front of her in one swooping step, his face so close that the tips of their noses were touching. TenTen didn't dare to move, as if face to face with a bear. He slowly brought up a hand to trail his fingers along the side of her face, down her jaw and across her chin and back again.

"To me, I can make you something different. Your personality makes it so that someone can mold you in their image, into something so…" He closed his eyes briefly, inhaling deeply. She could smell the cinnamon in his breath and from his hair as he exhaled again, pressing his forehead more firmly into hers. "…perfect."

"I'm not perfect," TenTen said stubbornly, calming her racing heart. "No one's perfect, even what you view as perfect. Someone perfect isn't good enough, because then there's nothing to take advantage of."

"What do you call your friend that I tripped over, then?" Sasori asked, voice hushed and calm.

"Not perfect," TenTen muttered.

Sasori backed up, looking her over, stepping backwards. "I still love you, TenTen," he said simply, staring at her seriously.

TenTen watched him. "Then let me go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said simply. "Remember. You're my pet."

"You know what…" TenTen narrowed her eyes at him, frowning, and feeling a little more casual than she should have. Maybe it was the impact of his words. "You remind me of someone."

"Really?" Sasori smiled fondly, amused. "Who's that?"

"Neji."

Sasori lost the smile immediately, and his lips parted slightly, surprised. And not pleased with her response.

"Because of the way you act," TenTen said, drumming her fingers on the glass thoughtfully. "The things you say. Neji's just like that. You know, acting like whatever comes, comes, and there's nothing you can do to change them. Well, I think there _are_ things we can do to change them."

"There aren't," Sasori said firmly, eyes starting to narrow, starting to loose his cool. "And I'm nothing like that-"

"Your life isn't written out for you," TenTen interrupted him loudly. "You weren't made to just cooperate and do what the world told you to do. And even if you were, there are ways you can get around that. There's always something."

"There's _nothing_, TenTen. Understand that!"

"Yes there is, I know it."

"_Stop_!" Sasori said loudly, staring at her with grit teeth. "Just...stop looking at me with those _eyes_!"

TenTen would not stop. She had to prove a point, she had to prove _something_...She wanted to help him, she wanted to help this person that reminded her of Neji.

The people that _needed_ her...

"There's nothing left! So stop it!" Sasori continued, seeming hysterical, gazing at her in fear and frustration.

"Then why are we still alive?" TenTen asked carefully, making sure she was _not_ going to be scared of him.

"Because we can't kill ourselves!"

TenTen glared at him. "Neji stopped me from killing myself after my mom died," she said darkly.

Sasori stared at her, eyes stony, then suddenly he was behind her. She blinked in surprise when she felt her arms get wrenched behind her. She dropped the glass, which smashed on the ground, the water splashing her legs and spreading out along the hard, grainy floor. The glass was littered beneath her feet in pieces, glittering in the light from the stairs. The chains tightened around her arms, digging into her skin, and then Sasori removed her hair from its high ponytail. It tumbled down her back, long and wavy, and he crossed around her.

"You look beautiful with your hair down, TenTen," he said, and his voice had no emotion to it at all.

"What…are you doing?" TenTen asked, wondering how what she'd said had effected him so easily. Was this what a vampire was like?

All he said were the words that made her heart skip two beats.

"I've had enough, TenTen. I'm prepared to kill you by midnight."

TenTen stared after him as he abruptly started to walk away. "…What…?" she whispered. "You said -"

"That way," Sasori interrupted her as he began to climb the stairs, as if she hadn't spoken at all, "you won't have to kill yourself."

16

_**a/n: **_Okay, first off: In case you guys didn't get the message, I'm on HIATUS because my parents found my progress report. I can still sneak on when they're at work or meetings, but that's not exactly often, so yeah. Beware the late updates of doom.

Second off: I AM IN LOVE WITH AN AMAZING MAN NAMED ADAM LAMBERT. I could care less if he's gay, or Jewish. He only didn't win because the votes for Danny Gokey (the ultimate buzz-kill) went to Kris because he's Christian, and they said they don't want a gay American Idol, or one that's not Christian. Also, Kris' hometown was giving out free 'Go-Phones', so his state alone got thirty-six-million votes, of the 100-million votes overall. Without that, Adam probably would've won. Another thing: Kris said it himself, Adam deserved it. And finally: Simon was pissed that Kris won, apparently. He liked Kris, thought it was a good thing he was in the finals, but wanted Adam to win. I have to say, I felt the same. But either way, Kradam is adorable, and I'm actually glad Adam came in second: he'll get more creativity on his _own_ album! LONG LIVE ADAM MITCHEL LAMBERT, I LOVE YOU BABY! :D

_thanks for reading!_

_xmarachanx_


	17. Snow

equilibrium

17

_There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea  
You became the light on the dark side of me  
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill_

"It figures," Neji said glumly, "that he'd live somewhere an hour away."

Temari said nothing as she gazed out the snow-flecked window down at the grey-brown slush splashing against the sides of the car she sat in the back of. The sky was a pearly white, clouds blanketing it thickly and blocking out the sunlight. A snowstorm was on its way, she could tell, and it would not make it an easier commute to rescue TenTen.

Her eyes darted in front of her. She could see between the sliver of Neji's seat, and noticed his knuckles clenched on the black leather steering wheel; pale white.

"Neji, calm down," Shikamaru said aloud, recognizing the worry as well. "You freak out too much when you're worried, you gotta be careful. Or you could crash us into a milk truck or something."

"A milk truck, Shikamaru, seriously?" Temari muttered. He shrugged lazily, and she sighed, leaning back all the way into her seat. "Well, at least we have a lead on the guy. Lucky we have you, huh Shikamaru?"

He smirked. "A compliment after an insult. How idiosyncratic, aren't you contradicting yourself?"

"Stop trying to sound like a dictionary," Temari muttered, darkening immediately. "It's not like I enjoy boosting your ego, it's giant enough already."

"Hey, I have good reason for a fairly leveled self esteem."

"Eh. He does," Neji said, shrugging. "Not that I enjoy it either…" he added in an undertone.

Temari frowned. "That reminds me…" she said conversationally. "Shikamaru, Ino said you were a genius when you fainted-"

"I didn't faint!" he interrupted her grouchily. "I was knocked out!"

"Whatever you say," Temari said simply. "The point is, I kinda find it hard to believe you're really _that_ smart. I mean, it's obvious you're smart. But are you really genius material?"

"Actually, I am," Shikamaru said, repairing his pride.

"Actually, he is." Neji repeated agreeably.

"Okay," Temari leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands, elbows on her knees. "Proof, please, Neji," she requested readily. "Anything from you," she added, nodding to Shikamaru before he could speak, "doesn't count. You could be lying."

Neji sighed. "Well…for one thing, he got a 'four-point-o' in High School."

Temari cringed. "Eh…I got a two-point-somethin'…I guess I can give you credit for that…" Shikamaru snorted, she glared at him.

"And…he was class valedictorian."

"Huh?!" Temari's mouth dropped open.

"He was top of his class, too," Neji continued, starting to list examples off of his fingers. "He never got anything less than an A, and even though he didn't do anything academically the teachers loved him so much, they gave him the credit for it anyways."

"Why would teachers like _him_?!"

"I guess they found his attitude funny. He was really popular in school."

"Would you quit talking about me in third person when I'm right here?" Shikamaru asked loudly. They ignored him.

"Oh, and he also got a full ride to Harvard." Neji paused. "Temari…?"

"I'm sorry…I think my brain just collapsed in on itself..."

Shikamaru frowned, looking over his shoulder. "Why are you so shocked?" he asked as Temari just shook her head, one hand to her forehead in shock and confusion.

"Because…_you_…!" was all she could say, snapping back to attentiveness and pointing at him, narrowing her eyes almost suspiciously. "And…and I thought you went to a community college!"

"Yeah, I turned Harvard down," he said simply. "I wanted to…stay with Asuma and Chouji and Sai."

"You're messed up in the _head_, man! I mean, you're like TenTen!" Temari crossed her arms, thinning her lips in an air of reason. "Throwing away chances! I mean, take it from people like me and Neji. We understand the possibilities and opportunities we missed out on, and it really hurts us to see people so much smarter going along the same road we're going down."

"Don't try to convince him, Temari," Neji said over his shoulder. "Or TenTen. It doesn't work. I've tried, with both of them. Shikamaru's way too stubborn -"

"And TenTen will never leave _her Neji_," Shikamaru retorted. He sighed. "Poor little idiot."

Neji glared at him furiously, hands tightening on the steering wheel. "She's smart," he said firmly. "She's brilliant. And she was so close to having the life she could have had. But _I_ was the one to take her away."

"She really is smart…" Shikamaru agreed thoughtfully. "Man. She definitely doesn't deserve this."

"Damn straight," Temari muttered. "I hope you feel great about yourself, Neji."

"Would you-?!" Neji took a deep breath between his teeth. "I get it…" he growled.

"Oh, yeah, then why did you treat her like shit?" Temari demanded. Then, "Oh, just shut up," she interrupted him before he could respond. She groaned and rested her head on the cool window. "I'm just worried about her, okay?" she said darkly.

Neji said nothing, staring out the windshield at the empty road in front of him. He watched the sky slowly turn a dark grey, the angry clouds rolling over each other and blocking out the sunlight. Slow like this car ride. What if they didn't make it in time? What if they got there, and she was dead?

Neji grit his teeth, and pressed the pedal to the floor, getting a small glance of surprise from Shikamaru.

If that happened, he would never be able to get over it.

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

TenTen had never really thought about something like this. She'd never felt the feeling of death creeping towards her before. She'd never really had the time to wonder when she _would_ die, to understand that someday, everyone had to. She'd never thought about life after death, or a world after death. But for a while now, since she'd heard what Temari had said about Hell the other day, she knew there was no turning back after learning the truth.

Temari had something evil in her. But TenTen knew her as if she was her sister. And Temari wouldn't lie about something like that.

And now, TenTen, for the first time, was faced with something she'd never had to stare at before. Death. The prospect that soon, she might die. She'd always thought about just fighting her hardest. But she didn't want to go down swinging. She wanted a _peaceful_ death…

Was that even possible? She'd chosen this path. She'd decided to work as a demon hunter, something she was good at. Something she would be with Neji for, something she'd _do_ for Neji.

But Neji wasn't even here, when she was going to be killed…

"Neji…" she whispered in a half-sob. She felt exhausted. Sasori might have given her breakfast. But he hadn't healed her bleeding skin. She'd lost too much blood. She was dizzy, nauseous, and she couldn't feel her hands, bound too tightly by the chains behind her back. Her arms and ankles ached from staying in the same position for so long.

"Neji…" she sobbed again. She could taste blood on her lips. It was dried and cracked, and a tear washed some of it away so it dripped down her chin to join the rest of it, soaking the chair.

She could feel her heart pounding dangerously. Not necessarily fast, but hard, and her head swam. She closed her eyes so she didn't have to see the room spinning. Adrenaline was pumping through her so strongly she could hear the swishing of her own blood in her ears. Her skin felt numb.

She could hear something else as well. It was like thunder, but coming from her own body…

The air got stronger, and suddenly it was swirling around her. She couldn't see through her eyelids, but she knew dust was probably being swept up in the currents. She felt strange, and possessed.

But oddly, not scared. In fact, she felt strong. Stronger than she'd ever felt in her entire life.

And then, she felt _free._

She didn't understand at first. She didn't know what was going on. But she heard the clank of her chains, and felt her arms and feet drop. She almost fell out of the chair, but her eyes snapped open, and she grabbed the arms of the chair with her startlingly willing hands, keeping herself up with trouble. And she stared around her, appalled.

The chains were floating in the air. Her hair, loose and long and strung together with her own blood, was being swept around her in an intense wind that she somehow felt she was controlling. The chains were hovering there in the air, and made absolutely no noise or movement. Just stayed there.

She stood up very slowly, her legs shaking and having to take a second to get over the swooping of the world and the sick urge to vomit.

The chains suddenly began to fall, and she gasped and her hand darted out. The chains stopped in their descent immediately. She stared at them, openmouthed, and knew what was going on.

She smiled excitedly, and lowered the chains mentally very slowly to the ground. They landed there with a very soft clank, and she immediately staggered over to her jacket lying on the ground across the room.

She pulled the jacket on, zipping it up over her bra. Her shirt was a bloody and ripped useless mess on the ground by the chair, she didn't even bother with it. She winced as the zipper grazed a wound on her stomach, but she urged herself to be strong and brave, and she turned to the stairs she could see very slightly by the dim light that came from the crack in the door at the top of them.

It was probably only a couple minutes to midnight. Everything was dark, and TenTen could hear crickets from somewhere in the dirty walls. She walked over to the staircase slowly, hearing her footsteps echoing in the black air. She carefully climbed the old wooden casing, hearing the creaks and groans that she hoped fearfully would not awaken Sasori's senses.

She finally got the top step, and felt around in the gathering darkness for the rusty door. She wrapped one hand around her stomach, which was throbbing out blood, and pressed against the long slab of metal that cheaply replaced the spot where a doorknob should have been. It opened with a small squeal, and she closed her eyes, hissing in a breath silently. But nothing happened.

Not believing her luck, she slowly walked as lightly as she could out of the doorway and stayed close to the walls. She was in a hallway. It was surprisingly different than the basement. Carpeted, and professionally decorated with an elegant theme of yellow and emerald. There was a very weak shaded lamp near the basement TenTen had just emerged from, illuminating the area, and it flickered once when TenTen tiptoed past it. She spotted a fancy wooden door cracked open at the end of the hall, and made here way there.

She stood nearby, and went over her options, breathing out her nerves reassuringly. She couldn't just stroll into that room. She needed to be careful, understand what she was about to do.

She could always grab something to hit Sasori with, wait in the basement, and when he arrived, attack him with it.

But he was a _vampire_, she reminded herself bitterly. There was no way she could take him on so recklessly. And what was there to arm herself with? A flickering lamp?

She could always wait behind the basement door, and when he walked down the steps, lock the door behind her, then make a run for it.

But…he was a _vampire. _Most likely, he'd break the door down, and go after her, and there was no way she could outrun a vampire.

So the only thing to do was to hope he wasn't in the room, maybe sleeping somewhere else, and sneak as quietly as possibly towards where she hoped was the front door, and sneak out, then find some onions and the nearest payphone and contact Neji.

That was all she could do…

So she swallowed hard, ignored the goose bumps and shivers dancing up and down her arms beneath the jacket, and very, very slowly pushed gently against the wooden door.

It creaked, but quietly, and, feeling she was secure enough, slipped through the small space she'd created for herself and stepped lightly into a very small living room. She observed it. She was standing behind a thick and wide pillar used to hold up a staircase, so it was obviously a two-story house. She could see the beige, plushy carpet beneath her feet was worn, old and dusty, but the rest of the room was well-kept and neat. There was a small table that was organized with newspapers and coupons. A golden-embroidered sofa with Persian pillows. An expensive vase over in a corner.

She crept behind the staircase slowly, controlling her breathing. She could also see two white wooden double-doors, with smudged glass windows framed by carved granite. She could see lights outside of the windows, and snow gathering at the bottom. She could see the colors of Christmas decorations across the street, she could even hear the roar of a motor.

Civilization. Society. _Safety_. All outside that door, and she found it hard to make a mad dash for it. She calmed herself, and allowed herself some time to her slow descent to her first step to freedom and peace.

But there was a loud, inhuman-like roar, and she screamed and stumbled backwards when a red blur vaulted over the sofa and towards her.

Her first thought, since she'd calmed herself significantly up till now, was to run for the door, but her demon was, after all, the demon of bad luck, and it got the worst of her. She fell to the ground, and Sasori leapt at her, his face not like a person's anymore, but distorted, with rows of teeth shooting out of his gums in front of his normal ones, sharp and gleaming and coated with plaque and excess food.

But before TenTen could feel the pain she was bracing herself for, she heard two loud bangs. Light flooded in, and something red sprayed TenTen's face. She squinted her eyes shut at that, and heard a loud thump, then a surprised and relieved, "TenTen!"

She opened her eyes and stared at the scene before her.

Sasori lay on the ground in a gradually increasing pool of his own blood; dead. She was on the ground on her back not too far away, covered in her _own_ blood, his blood splattering her face, and a jacket on over her bare stomach and bra. And Neji stood there, Shikamaru and Temari behind him, illuminated by the light of the Christmas decorations on the snowy lawns across the street behind him.

And she started to cry. It wasn't in relief. It wasn't in fear. It was out of pity, because Sasori was dead, and for a split second, she had pictured Neji dead, and she didn't want that.

She never wanted that.

And Neji was here, and she still wasn't worthy, and she wanted to die, and Neji was here…

Neji was here, so it was all okay…

But it wasn't…

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

Temari felt her heart lurch at the way TenTen lay there, sobbing on the ground, covered in blood, her hair a mess. She had never felt pity like this before, for anyone.

Neji stood there frozen for a while, just staring at her like an idiot. He stayed there for a moment in which Temari wanted to incinerate him, then he threw the gun he'd shot Sasori with to the side and flung himself down to her, holding her up by the shoulders firmly.

"TenTen, shh…" he said, obviously trying to be as comforting as possible. "TenTen, it's okay now, it's over. You don't have to go through that again, I…" But it wasn't working, TenTen just shook her head and sobbed:

"No, you killed him, you didn't have to kill him…"

"TenTen, he was gonna kill you…" Neji said softly. She just kept crying, and he sighed. "Are you…You're bleeding from your stomach…" Temari saw it as well; two dark patches staining the front of her jacket, one where her stomach was, one where her collarbone was. Neji, immediately concerned, moved his hands to the zipper. "I'll take a look, let's-"

"No!" TenTen suddenly flung his hand away quickly, eyes desperate.

"TenTen, I need to see if I have to take you to a hospital," Neji said reassuringly. "Let me-"

"No, don't – don't look, just-"

"TenTen, let me -"

"Stop it, would you?!" Temari suddenly ran forward, pushed Neji out of the way, and kneeled down next to TenTen. She had had enough. She couldn't just watch this anymore.

She turned to Neji sternly. "Isn't it obvious? She doesn't have a shirt on underneath, idiot," she snapped. Neji's eyes widened, and Shikamaru grimaced behind him.

"I…I'm sorry," Neji said quickly, standing up and backing away.

Temari turned back to TenTen and pushed the girl's bangs out of her eyes; she was distressed, and in pain, and confused and sad. Temari knew this, so she spoke in as soothing of a voice as she could. "Let me see, TenTen," she said softly. "Let me see if it's serious or not, okay? I can probably patch you up back at the hotel, but if it's bad I might have to take you to the hospital. But I won't let them see, I promise."

TenTen nodded simply, breathing shallowly and at a dangerously rapid rate. Temari unzipped the jacket and observed, bending so her body blocked Neji and Shikamaru from seeing TenTen in only her bra. And Temari could see why TenTen didn't want them to see. Her bra was ripped slightly, and half of her left breast was showing. Temari averted her eyes modestly and gazed upon the wounds.

She smiled as reassuringly as she could at TenTen and zipped the jacket up again. "It's fine, you'll be okay. I can just stick some bandages and medicine on everything and you'll be better in no time. Let's get you up, okay?"

But TenTen was not okay, and she grabbed Temari's hand. "Temari…I-I…"

"Hm?"

"I…I miss my mom…" she sobbed, and Temari felt tears sting her own eyes, although she'd be damned if she let herself cry in front of them all again.

She held TenTen tightly to her, not caring what Shikamaru or Neji saw, not caring what they thought. "I know…" she whispered sadly into TenTen's shoulder, letting the girl cry into her.

"I know…"

muirbiliuqe

"I win again, kiddo," Shikamaru said with a smirk, and TenTen groaned aloud. They were sitting across from each other over a strange Chinese fold-up board. Complicated designs and patterns were scattered around it, and decorated rectangular chips were piled on squares.

"Damn it! I have _never_ met anyone that could beat me at this game before!"

"Well, I just beat you four times. Get over it." Shikamaru sighed with smug content. "And I'm bored with it. Neji, throw me another beer, dude."

"No, you're gonna get drunk before the night's over," Neji said disapprovingly, he and Temari sipping on their own beers.

"Come on, I'm not _that_ light-weight. And I'm a year younger than you, stop trying to treat me like a kid."

"Yeah, well, I drink beer like water. It's a hunting thing. And what did you do in college, huh? Study all day?"

Shikamaru glowered, and TenTen giggled as she folded up the board again. It was Shogi, a Chinese game her mother had introduced her to. Shikamaru had spent three minutes reading the rulebook TenTen had thrown him after she'd woken up a day later in a particularly good mood, and had won every single game she'd challenged him with.

As Shikamaru argued with Temari over her beer, TenTen thought to herself as she put away the Shogi board in her baggage again, the pieces and the rule book in an antique velvet bag. She hadn't told them how she'd gotten out of the chains yet. She knew it was because of her demon, but she also knew she wasn't supposed to be that strong regarding her abilities just yet, and she didn't want them to think something was wrong with her.

Because she didn't know if there _was_ something wrong with her…

The rest of the whole ordeal had gone with an unspoken agreement that nothing would be mentioned. The only difference was that Neji and Shikamaru were giving her every bit of attention they could. Shikamaru was testing his knowledge against her own highly intelligent mind, even though most of the time he turned out better than her. Neji was talking to her more than he had been.

It felt good. But for some reason, some sort of feeling had latched onto her heart, and it wouldn't let go, even though she didn't know what it was.

"Okay, kid, fine!" Temari snapped, and she set her beer down and started walking towards the door. "Let's get a couple sodas, maybe _that_ will satisfy you."

"Don't call me kid," Shikamaru muttered, marching after Temari and out of the hotel room.

TenTen blinked in surprise. It was only a second before the door slammed behind them, and she was left alone with Neji.

'_Shit…_'

She quickly turned towards the window she was near, and sat down on the bed Shikamaru had claimed so she could look out it at the pearly white sky, at the snow gathering on the edges and floating, white and fluffy, around the air outside. She made sure she seemed as distracted as possible. She didn't want to talk to Neji, not right now…

"It's pretty outside, huh?"

'_…Shit…_'

TenTen gave a small, quick nod. "I like snow," she said quietly, quite aware that Neji was very, very close to her, standing with his beer and observing the wintery scene outside the window as well. She found herself wanting to go there, to get away from the cramped, muggy sensations suddenly holding her down. But she knew Neji hated snow. And she didn't want to leave him alone in here.

"Hm…" Neji's fingers drummed the beer bottle, and he turned to look down at her. TenTen looked up at him, and her heart swept at the smile he was giving her.

"Hey TenTen, do you want to go on a walk?"

TenTen smiled.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

That night TenTen had been taken by Sasori, the snow had been angry and harsh. It had swung around her, biting her cheeks and nose, clutching to her clothes. The wind had whipped her skin raw, it had been so cold that her ears were aching, and her nose was burning. But she had pictured soft, fluffy white happiness that she'd wished Neji could share with her.

Today, that vision was coming true. It was _real_, suddenly. Neji was cold, and his nose was running. But he was looking around, holding TenTen's hand in his, and she could see a glimmer in his pale eyes that was…beautiful, happy, peaceful…

Like the snow…

Soft, fluffy, floating down like rejected clouds, the snow landed on her eyelashes, her hair, and she smiled giddily, squeezing Neji's hand. He hadn't let go of her since she'd grabbed him and pulled him out of the hotel room, giving him barely enough time to grab their coats, laughing at her enthusiasm.

He hadn't let go…And that meant everything to her…

"Hey!" TenTen turned on the spot after something cold and wet slammed into the back of her head. She and Neji stared at Shikamaru, dusting off the snow from his hands, Temari grinning by his side, and handing him five dollars.

"Thanks, dude."

"No problem."

"You guys are so immature!" TenTen yelled angrily, upset at having to let go of Neji's hand.

'_They ruined my moment! I'll make them pay!_'

She leaned down and grabbed a handful of snow, and Temari laughed and pushed Shikamaru in front of her. "Hey, I didn't do it! It was him!"

"Don't use me as a shield. And _you_ _paid_ me to do it!"

"But I didn't do it myself, so it doesn't count."

"Have you ever taken a class on American Government and Law?"

"…No, I don't think I have…"

"…I'm not surpri-_Hey_!"

Neji laughed aloud as Shikamaru wiped the snow from his face. TenTen smirked. "Payback, loser!"

Temari sniggered. "Listen to that, the youngest here called you a loser. That's bad news, Shikamaru."

"You're next, Temari."

"Wha-?! Hey, don't you dare!"

Neji watched as TenTen bent over to grab another handful of snow, and Temari dragged an indignant Shikamaru in front of her again. "Heh. Just think about it," TenTen said almost to herself, slightly to Neji, as she straightened up again and packed the snow in her fist. "Everyone back at home is studying about now, for midterms. And _I'm_ hunting ghosts with someone as amazing as you!"

Neji took that as a sign he'd been forgiven. In fact, she hadn't been upset in the first place.

17

_**disclaimer: **_I do not own _Naruto_ or _Supernatural_.  
_**new song: **__Kiss From a Rose_ by _Seal_. Fucking epic.  
_**warning: **_Any negative remarks regarding religion _will_ be marked as _abuse_.  
This is explained in the _A/N_ in _Chapter 3_ _(Curse)_ of this story.

_**a/n:**_ So sorry about the long wait. This is an ode to the restart of _Supernatural_! Season 5 opening looks like it's going to be _epic_!

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	18. Lies

equilibrium

18

_But did you know,  
That when it snows  
My eyes become large and  
The light that you shine can be seen?_

"I'm serious, you look like a doll!"

"Really? I mean, I've never tried them on. I just didn't have any shoes that really _went_ with them."

"TenTen, you have got to get some self esteem. You look adorable."

"Ah, that's such a compliment coming from you! I mean, you have the _best_ fashion taste ever."

"I know. But you're not far behind, I mean it."

"Well what about that shirt with your boots? Where did you come up with it? I've never seen _anyone_ who can pull that off before, but it looks _gorgeous _on you."

"_You_ are my inspiration, trust me."

Shikamaru interrupted the two girls by moaning aloud as if he was dying of a terrible pain. "My _god _when will you _shut up_!" he torturously despaired, on his back on a bed in a motel room and dragging an arm across his eyes. "I liked it better when you _hated_ each other! Please just make it_ stop_!"

TenTen laughed a bit while holding a sour straw to her mouth and plopping down on the bed opposite Temari and Shikamaru. Temari rolled her eyes. "Dude, relax. You sound like a teenage…well, you sound like TenTen."

"Hey!" they both snapped.

She grinned. "What did I tell you?"

_"Yes, it's been a particularly gory week, Hang."_ The television was hissing on the far end of the cheap wooden room, a news station blaring. Outside the snow was drifting lazily through clouds of atmosphere, and the sun was glittering through the dirty window. The alarm clock next to TenTen read 9:30 in the morning.

The door to the hotel room opened, and Neji came in, holding a newspaper under one arm and a bag of food in the other. He kicked the door closed, and Shikamaru sat up slightly.

"Thank god, another man."

Neji raised an eyebrow but didn't ask, walking over to the table and sitting, setting the bag down beside him.

"Did you find anything?" TenTen asked curiously, immediately standing up. She felt a little excited whenever she was around Neji now. Every time he acknowledged her, it was like she was the most important thing in the world.

Neji sighed and shook his head. "Nothing on Tsunade, nothing on any jobs either."

"They said that it's been a gory week," Temari said, raising an eyebrow and quoting the television.

"Yeah, well nothing local," Neji said. He rested his chin in his hand wearily. "I'm tired of moving around everywhere…" he complained under his breath.

"Maybe if you'd let me drive once in a while…" Shikamaru suggested complacently. Neji ignored him.

Temari grimaced and sat back in the bed, kicking Shikamaru moodily, who spared her a glower. "This is boring. I had more fun back at home."

"Oh, yeah, whacking ghosts back to hell with iron rods. Sounds pleasant," Shikamaru commented. She just kicked him again.

"You don't understand. My city was the best. And the best part of it was that it was _my_ city!" She grinned and swept her bangs out of her eyes.

TenTen tilted her head to the side. "Maybe we can visit some day."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming, kiddo." TenTen frowned. She would.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"What the hell?!"

"Why not?! I'm nineteen!"

"Because you're still teenagers," Neji said, frowning at TenTen and Shikamaru. He knew this was going to happen. But he was trying to keep the situation calm and under control.

Shikamaru glared at Neji. "Dude. I'm fucking _twenty_."

"And not only are you a complete dork, and a lightweight…and you've never been able to beat me in a fight…and you're not really the best hunter in the world…and-"

"Okay, you're getting offensive, Neji," Temari interrupted him with a calm hand raised in the air. "I thought you promised we wouldn't be offensive."

"You knew about this?" TenTen asked with a glare.

"Listen," Temari said easily. "The only technique you guys specialize in is getting into loads of shit that put all of us in danger. You're both very reckless."

"And you're not?" Shikamaru muttered, frowning down at her.

"I'm a half demon. Even if I'm reckless, I'm better than you," Temari said wisely.

"Listen, bottom line is, Shikamaru, you're not going anywhere alone anymore, and TenTen, we're not letting you handle weapons anymore," Neji said loudly. He and Temari sat across from Shikamaru and TenTen at a nearby restaurant. Their untouched breakfast was steaming above them, and Neji was holding TenTen's gun in his hands underneath the table. "Other than knives."

"You can't be serious," TenTen hissed. "Neji! Come on, please?"

"No."

"_Please_?"

"No."

_"Ple-he-hease!"_

"No."

_Pleeeeeeeeeeee-_!"

"See TenTen, this is exactly what we're talking about," Temari muttered as she shook her head. She held out her hands to Neji under the table, and Neji slipped her the gun. TenTen watched with envy as Temari slipped it into her pocket and stood. "I'm gonna put this in the trunk," she said, so Neji chucked her the keys from his pocket.

"Come on!" TenTen cried, slumping on the table. Neji tried not to laugh. He knew it was terrible, but he was suddenly finding pleasure in her misery. She was too funny! "I'm helpless without it!"

"Actually, you're helpless with it too, TenTen," Temari said with a grin over her shoulder. "Won't even make a difference!"

TenTen straightened up furiously as Temari walked away, and glared at her back. "That complete … that demon _bitch_!" she hissed. Neji winced, not really liking hearing that word coming out of TenTen's mouth, but Shikamaru thought for a second.

"Does this mean you two hate each other again? 'Cause that would work for me."

Neji rolled his eyes. But TenTen was leaning over the table suddenly and reaching for the salt capriciously. Neji and Shikamaru watched her.

She unscrewed the cap off of the salt. Shikamaru and Neji's eyes followed her hand to Temari's glass of water.

TenTen, looking straight ahead as if she wasn't doing anything, poured all the contents of the entire shaker of salt into the glass of water. It clouded up, but TenTen stirred it with the straw quickly, then screwed the cap back onto the salt shaker, sat up straight again, and faced forwards silently. Shikamaru and Neji blinked at her.

Temari came back soon enough, and slid back into her seat next to Neji with a smile. "See, that wasn't so bad, TenTen, was it?" she asked, beginning to sip her water.

Shikamaru and Neji's eyes widened, and they both said, "Wait-!", but it was too late.

Temari didn't seem to notice anything at first as she swallowed her first sip of water. But then, her eyes widened, and her hands flew to her mouth as she coughed. TenTen smirked.

Smoke escaped from between Temari's fingers, and her eyes glassed over with black. She let her hands slide away from her mouth, smoke escaping from between her lips. She definitely looked demonic, and positively murderous.

She stared up at TenTen very steadily. TenTen was grinning with nervous satisfaction by now, and looking a little afraid, although it was obvious she thought it was worth it.

"TenTen…" Temari whispered slowly.

TenTen giggled guiltily.

"Um, is everything alright over here?"

Temari's eyes, still back, widened, and she quickly flicked the pair of sunglasses that was serving as a headband over her eyes, then grabbed a cigarette from Shikamaru's hands. She faced the waiter, standing there awkwardly. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I just, um…choked," she said, smoke escaping her lips again. She held the cigarette in front of her mouth as an excuse, and thinned her lips, smiling angrily. "On my water …"

The waiter backed away slowly, seeming frightened, and when he was out of sight, she started coughing violently again, smoke seeping from her mouth and dropping the cigarette, which Shikamaru's eyes followed longingly. She raised her head slowly to the grimacing TenTen.

"I will incinerate you."

TenTen slowly got up, then the two were making a mad dash for the exit, TenTen laughing a bit and Temari cursing loudly.

Shikamaru and Neji just stared after them.

"…Didn't TenTen have the credit card with her, Neji…?"

"…Yes. Yes she did. But fortunately for us, I have another one."

"…What kind of theft is that called again…?"

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Hey, change the channel back!" Temari cried that evening. She reached over Shikamaru and tried to grab the remote, but he lifted it into the air protectively. They'd been spending many exhausting hours trying to find a job that wasn't too far to drive to, since TenTen insisted Neji was too tired for driving.

Neji had to admit, he was thankful for that. Not only were Temari and Shikamaru's constant arguments driving him insane, but he wasn't getting enough sleep. He had a bitch of a headache.

"That channel isn't local, it has nothing to do with-"

"I said change it _back_, useless!"

"What the hell is your problem?" Shikamaru muttered as she snatched the remote from his hands. The television flickered back to the news channel, and Temari sat up straighter on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. TenTen was out getting food for him on her own order, and, also on her own order, he was relaxing on the open bed. He and Shikamaru sat up a bit as well, as they saw what the news channel was talking about.

"—_numerous bodies recently in Phoenix Arizona, and their hearts seem to have been torn out…"_

Temari's eyes widened. "I don't believe it!" she said excitedly, pointing to the screen. "Look at that!"

Neji frowned in concentration. "People being murdered with their hearts torn out…" he read from the screen. "That sounds like…"

"…Werewolves," Shikamaru agreed grimly. He glanced at Temari, who was smirking victoriously at the two. "Eh…Your call, Neji."

Neji closed his eyes and sighed. He'd have to do a bit more driving after all…

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Wow, Temari. You know I never really thought about it before, but it figures that you'd live in a place like this."

"...Thanks, TenTen."

It was as wild as the last time they'd been there. Phoenix Arizona was crowded, and Neji had a terrible time driving all the way to Temari's house. By the time they'd pulled up in front of the small brick building, he had shadows under his eyes, and the only reason he was probably still sitting up was TenTen massaging his shoulders and telling him he could sleep later for as long as he wanted.

Temari grinned and stepped out of the car. "This feels great!" she said happily, removing her winter coat. Birds were singing lovingly down at the four as they slammed the car doors shut behind them. The sun was bright, and peeking behind fluffy white clouds in a clear blue sky. The temperature was cool and pleasant, not cold and bitingly harsh like the normal winter winds had been as they'd swirled around them back in New York.

"You'd better feel damn amazing," Neji muttered as he trudged gloomily up the sidewalk. "I drove from New York to Arizona for two and a half days." He stumbled a little over the curb, and Shikamaru had to help him up, chuckling as he did so. Neji groaned. "You'd better be _ecstatic_." TenTen sighed in pity.

Temari laughed guiltily. "It does feel good." She smiled a bit and looked out at the sky. It was blue, Neji noticed, and a pretty blue at that. Something different than the usual winter skies. "It's home," Temari said with a small laugh.

Neji noticed something suddenly; Shikamaru was smiling a bit. He was gazing at Temari as she looked around herself contentedly, hands on her hips, a corny grin on her face. He looked…he looked almost happier than her…

Neji had seen that look before. He'd seen it in himself. He'd seen it often. When he'd first heard about Shikamaru's being accepted to Harvard, he'd smiled like that. He'd felt like that…

What…was this…?

"Holy _shit_! Dude! Look at this! Look at this chick! She's back!"

Temari blinked, and suddenly she was barraged by a stoner-looking man with jet black hair. "Temari! Whoa!" Another two men jogged over bouncily, big grins on their faces. "You're back!"

"Where'd ya go, girl? We all missed y-"

"Oh my god, would you get off my backs you scabs of the earth?!" Temari cried dramatically, shoving one of them away from her. "I thought I taught you to leave me alone the last time one of you tried to _grope_ me!"

"Aw, don't be like that, sweetie!"

"Hey, Kat! Look here, Temari's back!"

A girl in tight black clothes was walking by, talking on her cell phone, and when she spotted Temari she tripped on her high heels. "Temari?!" She turned to her phone. "I have to call you back…"

Temari groaned. "Come on…" she muttered to the other three, who were watching, slightly amused.

"Wow, Temari, you're like…famous…" TenTen said uncertainly as she ran to catch up to the blonde woman. The other four stoners behind them were backing up into the sidewalk, gazing in awe at them like turkey vultures.

"Yeah, more like people are stalking me," she muttered grouchily. Shikamaru was too busy laughing. She sent a glare his way.

When they got to the beaten-down porch, the door swung open, and a brunette was standing there, glaring down at Temari. Temari blinked and stopped, looking up at him. He looked down at her. They stayed there silently for a while, then the boy said slowly and dangerously, "Where. Have. You. Been."

"…Uh…" Temari laughed sheepishly. "You know, I can totally explain, Kankerou, if you'll let us inside-"

"Okay, so first of all you go and visit mom in the graveyard with these people that thought you were a witch, and then you _ditch _me and Gaara _without warning_ to _pay_ for the fucking _house_, the _bills_, the _food_, _everything_, except for the fortunately large amount that the welfare mom worked _so _hard to get is paying _for_ us, except I had a _hell _of a time trying to renew it! But you know what?! The social worker had a visit, and you know that Gaara and I are _terrible_ at cleaning? Well we are, and the social worker probably thought he was on the fucking _moon_! So I had to renew the welfare _again_, and they probably thought I was some cheap _bimbo_ that couldn't get a fucking _job_! And _where_ was it you were going, huh?! Oh, maybe to _find_ yourself or something. Because, oh, mom's death was _such_ a tragedy, and you _needed_ a fucking _road trip_ to sort out your priorities! Oh, but it doesn't matter that you're leaving your two teenage brothers behind to fend for themselves while trying to apply to colleges and fill out three job applications a day and also try and deal with school and grades and relationships and-!"

"Kankerou. _Breathe_," Temari said loudly. "You need to calm…Wait, did you say relationships?"

"Well _yeah_, I mean, Gaara has a girlfriend now and-"

"Gaara's in a relationship too?!" Temari cried hysterically. Kankerou blinked, and heaved a sigh. He opened the door wide. "I can see we all have a lot to talk about…" he said darkly. "Come on in…"

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

They didn't tell Kankerou about the werewolves. But they did tell him about the hunting business that Temari had gotten herself into, and he didn't actually seem to mind it much. Neither did Gaara, when he came home from school (Kankerou had been skipping, trying to work a fulltime job once a week), but then again he didn't seem to mind much. The only things he seemed to be interested in were his girlfriend, Matsuri, who was still in school when Gaara got home, in an afterschool club…and Temari surrounded by two intimidating, muscular, and highly attractive men.

Gaara had immediately set his eyes straight on them, and began talking to Temari, not looking away from them, saying how he had been worried about her, that he would have killed anyone who touched her inappropriately with his own bare hands. He went on saying how much he wouldn't mind the blood, that any man's death was worth the sanctity of their family. Shikamaru and Neji each seemed a little disturbed, and Temari, slightly uncertain herself, had pulled Gaara into the kitchen to make him a tuna sandwich.

And after the four hunters had checked into a hotel (Temari insisted her house was far too small for so many people), unpacked, and gotten something to eat, it was time for research.

They were in the restaurant when Shikamaru decided gruelingly to open his laptop, TenTen still finishing her gigantic lunch.

Temari was looking at TenTen next to her with envy. "I can't believe you can eat so much and not gain a pound!"

"I know, right?" TenTen said while sipping her soda. "My demon is like the metabolism every model wants! It's awesome!"

Temari rolled her eyes and rested her elbows on the table. "Got anything, crybaby?"

Shikamaru ignored the insulting nickname. "Well, I'm trying to find some connections between the victims. It's true what the news station said, there's some sort of freak out there. Six missing persons in town since Sunday, and three bodies have been found, all with their hearts torn out from their chests. Again, most likely a werewolf."

Neji grimaced. "I can't wait for this one," he muttered sarcastically. "Have you found any connections?"

"Sort of…" Shikamaru said. "They all live in this city, most of 'em are male, only two female…Also, they all seem to be within the range of upperclassman in High School and college student. But there's nothing really personal about them."

Neji cracked his knuckles. "Well, you know what that means."

"Yup." Shikamaru snapped the laptop shut. "Time for some sob stories."

muirbiliuqe

"Is there anyone else you know, maybe family, friends, that might have held a grudge against him? Someone that could have wanted to do this to him?"

"N…No, no…He was such a sweet boy…"

Neji nodded slowly. He and Temari sat across from a middle-aged woman. Temari was looking at a picture she'd politely taken from the coffee table between them of her son. They were posing as FBI with their fake IDs. They were busy interrogating a few relatives of victims as Shikamaru and TenTen conducted more research at the local library on werewolf-recognizable murders in the past.

"Did he have many friends?" Neji continued.

"Oh, yes," the woman said earnestly with a fond, nostalgic smile. "He was so eccentric, he was always bringing friends home."

"Did he ever…get any of them into trouble?"

"Oh no. But he did get drunk often, and the two times I caught him smoking he begged me for forgiveness." The woman laughed throatily in memory, and Neji closed his eyes and nodded. "Uh huh…"

Temari set the picture down and gave the woman a sweet smile. "Thank you, Miss, that was all we needed," she said comfortably, grabbing Neji harshly by the elbow and hoisting him to his feet as she stood. "We're very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," the woman fare-welled the two as they exited the rusty house.

They closed the door behind them, and Temari let Neji go, sighing. "This is the fourth victimized family we've talked to, and so far every story is the same," she said exasperatedly.

Neji nodded. "All of them were outgoing, friendly, had lots of friends."

"Yeah. They were rule-breakers, I guess, but I can't see why anyone would have a grudge against them," Temari agreed. "If it was me, I would have liked them."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see how Shikamaru and TenTen are doing," Neji said as they got into the car.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"Got anything?" Temari called as Shikamaru and TenTen walked into the hotel room.

"We have _some_thing," Shikamaru said, and TenTen pulled a folded rectangular map out of her purse. She set it on the table, and all of them crowded around it, Shikamaru sitting down and laying it out flat.

It was marked with a few X's, and Shikamaru pointed to them now. "These are all houses of the victims. All of them were killed in their homes after hours while no one else was there, and all of the houses are within a two-mile radius."

"And the A-bomb in the center?" Neji said understandably.

"Four acres of bowling alleys and bars, and an apartment complex," TenTen said, tracing the circle of X's and drawing her finger into the middle. "It looks like we've eliminated most of the city."

"We figured some stuff out too," Temari said. "So far it seems like all of the victims were, well, very eccentric."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Weird connection, but I guess it works. Maybe we can find someone who hangs around them a lot.

"That would help." Temari pulled some hair behind her ear. "Most of the time, werewolves don't know what they do when they turn. And they only turn at night."

Shikamaru looked at her strangely. "You know a lot about werewolves."

She shrugged. "I used to know one. But he doesn't live here anymore, he's been in China for a while."

"So we can only hunt at night?" TenTen asked. "Fun."

"Yeah, well, we might as well check out that apartment complex."

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Huh. I've never been inside this place before," Temari said as they walked up to a brick building.

"I thought this was _your city_, Temari," TenTen mocked her playfully.

Temari shrugged. "Doesn't mean I've been everywhere."

"Shikamaru, smoke-free building," Neji said sternly, pointing to the white sign on the side of the glass doors they were walking in through at the moment.

Shikamaru, puffing on a cigarette, glanced carelessly at the doors quite briefly, but kept walking, and looked around at the small hallway they entered. He saw a ceramic vase on the side of the hall, and, glancing around him casually, walked over, pressed out the flame, and chucked the cigarette into the vase.

Neji and Temari both rolled their eyes, but TenTen giggled a little as he walked back over with his hands in his pockets, face void of guilt. Neji and Temari were so stiff sometimes.

Neji sighed. "Okay, let's get this straight; you're supposed to act like an FBI agent."

"I am one," Shikamaru said defensively. "I'm smart, I act like a douche, and I look good. What more?"

"…Yeah, you got it down," Temari muttered bitterly. He smirked and opened the doors to a small room, an unorganized desk on the far end of it. There was a balding man sitting behind it wearily with his head in his hand, and he looked up glumly with a very bored, "Can I help you?"

"FBI," Neji said simply, pulling out his fake ID. "We need to find a young man that lives here, he's supposed to be very…um…ecc…eccsetri…uh, eccsert…ic…er…"

"…S…Sorry?"

Shikamaru heaved a sigh and put a hand on Neji's shoulder. "_Eccentric_," he completed for Neji, who was scratching his head sheepishly. Meanwhile, TenTen was finding it hard to run over and hug Neji 'till he died. Why was he so cute?!

"He'd probably be in High School or college…Kinda loud…" Temari continued to hint as the man behind the desk twisted his lips in concentration.

The man behind the desk snapped his fingers. "I know exactly who you're talking about! He isn't in trouble, is he?"

"No, no, we're just reopening a case and we think he can help us to get a further lead," Shikamaru lied easily. "Do you know which room number he has?"

"Yeah, I actually got a spare key right in here," the man said, standing and walking over to a filing cabinet. As he bent over the cabinet and opened a drawer, he spoke over his shoulder to the four. "Just to let you know, if you ever have any suspicion about the kid, get over it soon. He's a good guy, a senior in High School with a three point eight GPA…He's real bright, and sure he only just moved in and we already get a lot of complaints, but he's a lot of fun. Moved in with his older sister, and he's pretty protective of her."

"We're sure he's a nice guy," Neji said unenthusiastically.

The man straightened up and walked over to Neji to hand him a small yellow envelope marked with a signature and with a key-shaped bump inside. "Is that all you need?"

"Yes, thanks for your help," Neji said, taking the key. He glanced at the number on the front of the envelope. "Room 142…"

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Neji. When you said we were going to break into his apartment, I didn't think you meant we were doing it through the attic," Temari said dully as she nearly ran into a low-set rafter.

"Yeah…I don't know what I was thinking…" Neji said hoarsely as he stared at an inhabited spider web in his way. Shikamaru pushed past him easily and swiped it away, but honestly, he wasn't really up to it after that insect episode they'd had to deal with in the warp holes Hidan had thrown them in.

"This is so refreshing," he muttered sarcastically as he pulled Neji along gruffly.

"I wish we'd get paid or something," TenTen said with a sad sigh. "Instead of getting our money from poker games and fake credit cards."

"Yeah, well, that's what our job consists of," Shikamaru said. They all had to go underneath a low-hanging beam, and he nearly hit his head on it as he was busy pushing Neji past a large centipede that Temari nearly gagged at the sight of and made TenTen give a large shriek when passing.

They'd gotten to the attic, as Shikamaru had predicted, through the balding man's office, where there was a staircase up to a trap door that was easy to open, which they'd investigated after the balding man finally left for who knew how long.

The attic was made of wood; wooden floors and beams and rafters sticking out all over the place. Stained glass windows opened out onto the street outside, letting light filter in, illuminating the dust that floated everywhere dreamily. Shikamaru was busy looking out these windows, counting in his head. He'd already memorized the building's structure, now he was distractedly trying to figure out where room 142 was. Currently, he knew they were above 130. Room 142 wasn't far away. They were lucky it was on the second story…

They kept going, making their way through the cramped and dirty prison. After a while, Shikamaru stopped them. "I think this is it," he said, kicking a hollow spot beneath him lightly. Neji came over and kneeled down next to him, feeling around. "It's too dark…" he muttered, but finally he found a groove in the wooden floor and pried his fingers into it.

Shikamaru reached into his jacket and fingered his gun. They might need it. They'd followed the lead this far, and it was already getting late into the day. A werewolf was dangerous when it turned, and sometimes, if strong enough, it could force itself to be just as dangerous in the daytime. They just had to make sure it didn't get angry enough.

Neji finally pried the screen door open, lifting it with trouble and some help from Shikamaru. When it was finally open and light pooled in, they were at last able to descend. Neji went first. He grabbed the side of it and swung himself over, then let go. Shikamaru heard him drop. He crouched near the entrance of the trap door at the ready, TenTen and Temari nearby behind him, and waited.

It was silent for a while, there were the sound of Neji's cautious footsteps, then the creaking of a door, and finally Neji reappeared in the entrance and said quietly, "It's clear."

Shikamaru pulled himself down next, and found himself dropping into a small walk-in closet, the door of which was open to a bedroom. Shikamaru walked out as Neji helped the other two down, and looked around curiously. The room had a queen-sized bed in it, and it looked like a lady's room. There was a mirror over the bed, golden and fancy, and a wardrobe with makeup and perfume stacked on it. Shikamaru slowly walked over to a tidy bookshelf with picture frames scattering it. He picked one up. It was a picture of a scruffy tan boy with a grin on his face, an arm around an older woman who was looking a little uncomfortable but smiling meekly nonetheless.

He set the portrait down and turned to face the other three, walking in and looking around. "Sure doesn't look like a werewolf's room yet," Shikamaru commented.

"This is probably his older sister's room," Temari said reasonably. "The guy said he lived with her."

TenTen raised an eyebrow. "Hey…what's that…?" She pointed to the windowsill, and Shikamaru looked at it. There was something red there. He narrowed his eyes and walked over.

"It looks like a…handprint…?" he said curiously. It was indeed a red handprint, clenched over the sill. He ran a finger along it, and winced at the sticky residue that came off onto the tip. "Blood…" he said, turning around and wiping his finger on the inside pocket of his jeans. "It's probably about a day old, but still fresh."

Neji frowned. "Why would the blood just be there? Werewolves are pretty sloppy."

"Probably covering itself up," TenTen said.

"Which means he knows what he's doing," Temari stated what everyone was fearing.

Suddenly, the door opened slowly. Everyone whipped around and stared at a young man, the same scruffy-looking one from the picture, standing in the doorway cautiously. He stared at them. They stared back. And about five silent seconds later, he leapt forward towards Temari.

Shikamaru's mind went wild. He didn't have time to react, the man was too fast. All Shikamaru had time to do was expect blood, and pain, and anger, and he was frightened for Temari. He'd been scratched from a werewolf when he was twelve, the scar never went away.

But instead of ripping out Temari's guts, instead of slashing her throat, instead of biting her jugular, he…

…_hugged_ her…

"Temari, oh my _god_ it's good to see you, Kankerou told me you were gone, but you're _not_, ah, I missed you _so much_, I mean I _knew_ I could hear your voice in here, but I didn't think it was you, but it _is_, I am _so _happy!"

At this, no one knew how to react, even though they finally had time to. Temari herself was astounded, but for a different reason.

"_Kiba_?!" she cried.

Shikamaru gaped. '_What the __**hell**__…?!_'

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Temari…you know this guy…?" Neji asked uncertainly. Needless to say, Temari seemed to him to be just as confused as the rest of them were.

"U-Um…he's my brother's boyfriend…" Temari said choppily.

The young man, Kiba apparently, pulled back and held Temari out to look at her with a toothy grin. He didn't even bother asking why the hell they were in his apartment. "You look gorgeous! You haven't aged a day!"

"H…How could I, I'm dead…" Temari said slowly, still looking appalled.

TenTen blinked. "Temari…um…"

"It's okay, TenTen, he knows I'm a half demon," Temari said simply, not letting her eyes stray from Kiba in front of her, who was examining her outfit happily.

He turned around when she addressed TenTen. "Oh, you brought friends! Who are they? One of 'em your boyfriend, eh?" He grinned over at Temari. "You finally find someone not after your juice box?"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Um…Kiba…"

"Temari…" TenTen said again. "You…um…I think we should talk to you alone…"

Kiba turned around and blinked. "O…Oh, sorry, is something wrong?" He turned to Temari. "I thought you kinda…you know, came in here to surprise me or something…You didn't…?"

Temari cleared her throat and glanced around at the other three, then to Kiba. "I um…It's kind of complicated…" she said guiltily. "Can we just have a couple minutes alone, we need to, uh…sort something out."

"…Uh, yeah, sure…" Kiba said. He glanced at Neji directly suddenly, and Neji followed the man's eyes down to his hand in his pocket. He inwardly cursed himself and pulled his hand away; he was holding his gun. Kiba left the room, closing the door softly behind him, and Temari turned sheepishly to the others.

Shikamaru finally sighed. "Temari…"

"What?" she said defensively. "How the hell was I supposed to know this was his place?!"

"He's your brother's boyfriend, right?"

"He's been in China for three years!"

Shikamaru was silent, point taken. But then he ran a hand across his face in frustration. "Temari, is he a werewolf…?"

Temari's eyes slowly widened. "Well…y-yeah, but-"

"Temari, you failed to tell us that you had a friend living here that's a werewolf?" Shikamaru demanded quietly. "In a town that's being attacked by werewolves?"

"I already told you about that, he's been in China for a while now! I didn't know he was even here, he must have moved back when I left!"

"Temari, don't you get it? He's our first suspect," Shikamaru said grimly.

Temari blinked. "N…No, you don't understand, okay?" She shook her head with a nervous laugh. "Kiba's…Kiba's not like that, there's no way he'd ever kill anyone."

"How do you kno-"

"Shikamaru, I've _seen_ him turn, myself, he's not violent! He knows what he's doing, all the time!"

"And so does the guy we're after. Temari, there's blood on the windowsill, he matches our lead, all the evidence adds up."

"He's innocent! Stop acting like you know everything, you're not that smart you little idiot!"

"You are so stubborn! Would you get over yourself?! You can't even handle a hunt like this, can't half demons even control themselves?!"

Temari thinned her lips furiously, opened them, looked like she was going to say something foul to the equally seething Shikamaru, then turned on her heel and stormed out of the room after Kiba, slamming the door hard behind her.

Neji winced. That was _the_ most epic argument he'd ever witnessed.

Shikamaru muttered a curse under his breath and sat on the edge of the bed roughly, punching himself in the knee and glaring at the ground. "Why do you two have to hate each other…?" TenTen asked sadly, watching him.

He looked up at her and sighed, calming himself. "We don't hate each other," he assured TenTen in a mutter. "We're just in an argument kind of…situation…thingy…"

TenTen frowned. "No, you guys are both too quick to jump to conclusions. _You _think that it's Kiba when we don't know for sure. And _Temari _feels like she's the one being accused. You guys have some serious trust issues with each other."

Neji looked up slowly and nodded. "You have a point," he agreed, staring at Shikamaru. "I've noticed that too."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Shikamaru replied simply.

"No, we do," TenTen said defiantly. "I can see it, Shikamaru. Temari wants you to trust her. And you want to trust her too. But you both know you can't…" TenTen crossed her arms behind her back casually, observing Shikamaru with distaste. "You both know you're keeping secrets from each other. And you're mad at each other because of that, and you're mad at yourselves, because you hate keeping secrets from each other…"

Shikamaru looked up at her slowly. "You don't know what you're talking about…"

"Yes I do," TenTen repeated. "Because I don't like it either. Secrets." Neji watched her. "I don't like it when people lie to me…"

18

_**a/n: **_You have no idea how happy I am to finally be updating this story. I apologize for the lack of action in this chapter. But I can assure you there will be plenty of blood and guts to spill later. You see, I've finally laid out the entire plot-line for this story, and there _will_ be a _major character death_ around Chapter 23. It's a ways away, and I'm never going to even hint to you who it is, but again, it will be a _major_ character who dies, and it's going to be very sudden and unexpected.

This long-awaited update has commenced in celebration of my birthday, which is on November 26. Yes, I was born on Thanksgiving Day. My birthday switches around a lot, but this is the first year of which my birthday is on the actual Holiday since a while ago. So on my birthday, you shall all be feasting. I've also updated to celebrate Adam Lambert's album, which finally came out. I got the album three days ago, and I haven't been able to stop listening to it. I think Adam Lambert is some kind of metaphysical, angelic god created just for me. :)

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	19. Blood

equilibrium

19

_I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray  
The more I get of you, the stranger it feels  
And now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the gray_

Neji had a headache.

He couldn't really locate the reason for it. It might have been the constant buzzing of the car as he drove the four of them through the tediously cramped streets of Phoenix Arizona late at night. It might have been the muggy, impossible heat that only he seemed to be quite uncomfortably aware of. It might have been Shikamaru and Temari arguing constantly.

Yeah, that was probably it.

"Alright, so you think that he's some evil mastermind. Why didn't he kill anyone before, eh? Why didn't he kill my brother, he definitely had enough chances to! I've never heard of any werewolf attacks before when he lived in the city!"

"Oh, so suddenly I know everything!"

"Well that's what you seem to be saying!"

"Neji…When will it stop…?" Neji could hear TenTen groan behind him.

Neji sighed and saw the cars in front of him beginning to move. He pressed down hard on the pedal, jarring the two of them out of speech. They both probably noticed his anxiety and shut up, but he could _feel_ the _glares_ they were sending each other.

After a while they finally got off Crooks Rd and onto a small side street. It was pitch black, and a man was busy dumping a trash bag into a dumpster in an alley they passed through.

Neji frowned and slowed down to a rumbling, snail-ish pace, focusing in on the man. "Uh…what the hell…?"

Shikamaru and TenTen started laughing uncontrollably. The man obviously couldn't tell they were there, and he was dancing to his iPod with the trash bag.

"Wow, seriously? Neji, stop, I wanna dish this guy out," Temari said with a grin. Neji rolled his eyes and stopped, and Temari rolled the window down and stuck her head out. "Hey, dude! Nice moves!"

The man, surprisingly, laughed and turned around. He had long, blonde hair and bright, cheerful blue eyes. "Haha, thanks! _You Shook Me All Night Long_ by _ACDC_. I can't stay still, ya know?"

"Amen," Temari said with a grin. "What, are you a-?"

The next thing that happened, the man yelped and was slammed into the ground, and TenTen screamed as he was yanked backwards, shouting in surprise, into a skinnier alley.

"…Holy shit," Shikamaru broke the silence. Neji narrowed his eyes.

"Not good. Out, everyone out." They didn't need telling twice. All four ran out of the car, slamming the doors shut behind them, and jogged over to where the man had been dragged. They couldn't hear anything anymore, and Shikamaru shined a flashlight down the alley that they peeked into; nothing.

"What the _hell_?" TenTen cried. "Do you think that's it? The werewolf?"

"Probably," Neji said darkly. He groaned and turned to Shikamaru. "Go get the guns from the trunk." He nodded and ran off. Temari was standing in the mouth of the alley, looking down it.

Neji walked over slowly to her. "Don't worry, Temari. I'll send TenTen and Shikamaru after Kiba, to see if he's home." Temari turned to him slowly.

"He already had trouble enough when we explained everything to him at his house," she said. "Can't we leave him alone? What will his sister think? He's already had to hide everything from her since he turned the first time."

"Temari, we just have to make sure."

She sighed. "Fine."

"Here ya go." Shikamaru came back again, and as he distributed the guns he noticed Temari's expression. "What's wrong, Betty Crocker?"

"Don't call me that, _Hayley Joel_," she muttered, snatching the gun from his hands and suddenly pushing him back. "You and TenTen take the car and me and Neji will go check out what happened to ACDC guy."

"…_What_?" Shikamaru looked appalled, and he grabbed her wrist, resisting her from pushing him backwards further. "I can't believe you!"

She turned around fiercely to face him as well. "You shut up!' she hissed. "You and TenTen are going to check out Kiba's place, see if he's home or not, so don't you _dare_ go spouting useless _shit_ about me and Neji _treating you like kids_ when I could very will be _killing you_ right now! You know why? Because it's the middle of the night, and you're going to the place where the werewolf is supposed to live. You think I'd be treating a _kid_ that I'm trying to _protect_ like that?!"

"You're an idiot! You still don't think Kiba's the werewolf?! The werewolf just attacked, and you're going in after it with guns and flashlights!"

"It could be a trap, it could be heading back to its house!"

"You're running on conclusions and guesses, Temari, that's not good enough!"

"_Both of you_ _shut up_!"

Temari and Shikamaru blinked in surprise at TenTen, who stood there fuming. She pointed roughly to them. "Alright. Let go of each other. Shikamaru, come with me. Temari, go with Neji. _Now_. Can't you see you're giving him a headache?!"

Neji wanted to laugh. "Thank you," he said gratefully, massaging his temples as Temari and Shikamaru threw themselves away from each other, sharing a last, bitter glare, and then turned their backs on the other and marched their own way.

"Be careful," TenTen said to Neji, now looking up at him earnestly, and he smiled at her before turning to follow after Temari quickly into the alley. She was waiting for him just inside. He nodded at her, and they switched on their flashlights and began to walk through the darkness.

It was a skinny alley, squeezed between two brick buildings, so only one could slip down the sliver of cement in width. Neji walked closely behind Temari, watching her back and keeping his guard up. He could see over her shoulder, and noticed the flashlight's beams lighting up abandoned spider-webs wildly and began to feel a little queasy. But they went on nonetheless.

Finally Temari gasped and stopped, and Neji frowned. "What is it?" She looked over her shoulder, biting her lip. "You may want to go first," she said weakly. "Because it's definitely a werewolf."

Neji raised an eyebrow, and she suddenly pressed her back to one of the walls. Nodding her head to the side, she motioned for him to slip past her. Before doing so, he noticed a shiny patch of red glinting in the golden orb of his flashlight.

He frowned and slipped past Temari uncomfortably, then gazed at the blood.

There was a lot of it.

They followed a trail of blood along the dark alley by the light of their flashlights, and finally got to a hole in the wall of one of the buildings.

The alley by now had widened up, and both of them could finally walk side by side. They stood and stared at the hole, Neji bending over to shine the flashlight into it. Something dripped from the ceiling of the hole. It was very small, just a break in the bricks big enough for a grown man like Neji to crouch and get through. He nodded to Temari, and she loaded her gun grimly. He did the same, and they both slipped in.

Neji went first, bending and struggling through, and Temari popped in second. As soon as they got in they whipped out their guns and flashlights, and pointed them in opposite directions. Neji strained his ears, but could hear nothing, only the hum of some distant pipes and that same old mysterious dripping noise. They seemed to be in the destroyed walls of some abandoned building. There were wooden beams here and there, and layers of bricks all around them.

Too confusing to actually map the place out, Neji decided to follow the closest lead they had; blood. It was everywhere. There were handprints, smeared about along corners of bends in the bricks and wood, random red splashes, patterns and smears wiped along the floor and everything else. He turned around to Temari, who was chewing on her bottom lip.

"I think he dragged ACDC man somewhere," Neji said under his breath to her.

Temari nodded. "What should we do, should we split up?" she asked softly.

He swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. I'll go down there…" He pointed his flashlight's orb to a small opening in the ground that seemed to lead to a lower level, since the filthy cement floor dipped slightly,"…and you can check over there…" He moved the beam to an opening that a few handprints seemed to be dragged into.

Temari nodded slowly. "Okay. Should I holler as soon as I find anything?"

"Yeah, do that. But…if you can, be as discreet as possible about it." Neji grit his teeth nervously, eyeing the hole he was about to descend. "These things are gory." He saw her worried expression and shook his head. "We just have to be careful, that's all. I mean, usually Shikamaru would be useful on this kind of thing, but he's…"

"Dealing with the fact that he's gonna die soon. Yeah, I know," Temari said darkly. "And you're too overprotective of TenTen to let her get into any real danger."

Neji felt himself heat up, but denied nothing, facing the hole again. "This is our best chance," he determinedly changed the subject. "It's now or never."

"'Rather it be sooner than later," Temari muttered in grim agreement, and with that Neji felt the pressure against his back release as she left his side, walking towards her exit.

"Be careful," he called quietly after her.

"Right back at you."

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"I still can't believe them," Shikamaru muttered as he sped uncomfortably fast down the highway.

TenTen winced as he skipped a red light, gripping the seatbelt tightly for comfort. "Uh, Shikamaru? A little less intense on the speed here, please?" she said nervously as a couple drivers behind them beeped indignantly, cursing out their windows and flipping them off.

"Come on! You can't tell me you're not pissed too!" Shikamaru cried. "I mean, they're treating us like-"

"-Like helpless kids, _I know_," TenTen finished for him loudly. "I get it, Shikamaru, and yes, I'm pissed. Hell, I'm outraged. But Neji made a good point-"

"-Oh, Neji's right, isn't he? Because Neji's always right, he's always perfect, he – he can't _ever_ be _wrong_, can he?! Even dad didn't think so! Dad _never_ got mad at Neji, and it wasn't because Neji's an orphan or anything –no! – that has nothing to do with it! It's because Neji's _so _goddamn _perfect_ compared to me! He-!"

"Shikamaru, this isn't about some family feud!" TenTen snapped at him as he turned a corner, TenTen noticed distractedly, barely on all four wheels. "This is about a _werewolf_, and trying to figure out who he is!"

"TenTen, it's _obvious_!"

"There are always other options, Shikamaru. Please, just _calm down_ before you…hey, what are you doing?! The apartment's right there!"

Shikamaru swore and swerved around three cars (TenTen squealed into her knuckles in frightened frustration) and he pulled clumsily into the lot, parking in a restricted spot. He immediately slammed out of the car, leaving TenTen to seethe inside furiously.

"Shikamaru is such a —!"

She realized then that she hadn't had to use that word as much before she met these people…

muirbiliuqe

Temari wasn't frightened easily. No, that was a lie. _Temari_ was frightened easily. She screamed like any other when startled, she jumped, she hated walking alone in the dark. She was always alert.

But fear…_did_ _things_ to a person. No, she preferred…to _repel_ it.

She was glad it was dark. She was sure that if the victim saw her black eyes, they would freak. Freak more than they were already freaking. If that was possible. It wasn't every day you got snatched from behind by a werewolf while listening to ACDC.

She heaved a sigh. How boring. How utterly boring. Whenever she 'went demon', it was boring. She heard a slight sound, like a rat, but didn't bother looking. Who cared? The human blood in her might have. The demon blood in her didn't.

She sighed and kicked the side of a large hole in a wall she passed, letting her flashlight dangle lazily in her hand. "Come out, come out, wherever you are…" she mumbled through relaxed lips. "'S not like you're gonna survive meeting me anyways…" she added in a darker undertone, those lips turning up at the corners slightly in a sadistic smirk…

'_Ah, crap…I've lost it…_'

She blinked her eyes, and the normal blue returned. She breathed out slowly. "Shit…" she whispered to herself. Whenever she 'went demon', she was _so bored_ that she lost her wits, she didn't bother caring about significant things. And now, she'd lost her trail.

She swung the flashlight around. "Where's the blood, where's the blood…?" she whispered to herself desperately, eyes wide and searching.

Nothing. Not a scratch on the walls, nothing red or gooey or mysterious.

This was it. She had completely lost her trail. She was completely lost, in an empty, abandoned building, the only inhabitants being a werewolf, a frightened guy that liked ACDC, her, and a hunter who was currently busy in some dark, secluded hole, unable to pay attention to her.

"…_Shit_," she hissed to herself. She fisted a sweating hand around her flashlight and tried to stay cool. '_Just think like Neji…He's a good hunter, 'been through this kind of thing before. What would he do if he lost the trail…?_'

Keep searching. She nodded to herself and turned around. "That's it. Keep searching until I find something worth lookin' at." She walked forwards to the large hole she'd kicked earlier in her demon phase, and she bent down, shining the flashlight into it. She grimaced.

This was a tunnel she was looking into. The flashlight's beam couldn't light up the end of it, and it was short so she'd have to kind of crouch or crawl through it, narrow so she wouldn't be able to easily turn back…

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm goin' in…" she said weakly.

But before she couldn't even move, she saw something strange.

She could see her shadow in the light that the flashlight sent into the walls of the tunnel. But she could see something else too. Another shadow. Skinny, but with two large hands rearing behind her, hairy and clawed and large and flaking with dead skin.

A large, smooth, furry hand clamped around her mouth, and a very strong, thick arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her backwards into a bumpy chest. She tried to scream but the hand was so thick that it muffled almost anything that came out. She tried to struggle, but this was the strongest person she'd ever had to deal with.

She could smell something surprisingly similar to raspberry and butter. And then a strangely hoarse, but strangely high-pitched voice said in her ear, "Make a sound, and you die."

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

It was midnight when the sound of a door crashing in on itself in room 142 on the second level of the 'Day-Z Apartment Complex' was heard echoing around the small, isolated block.

Kiba woke up with a start immediately as Shikamaru and TenTen crashed through the door into the living room and raised their guns threateningly. The boy's hair was scruffy, and he jumped off of the sofa, the comforter that had been wrapped around him fluttering to the side. He was shirtless, and he scrambled to keep his baggy black sweatpants up with one hand, the other reaching over to turn a flickering lamp on. "Wh-What the hell?! You guys?! What are you doing?!"

Shikamaru and TenTen slowly lowered their guns. Shikamaru's eyes were huge, TenTen was looking around.

No blood. No nothing. Kiba wasn't even in the form of a werewolf, he looked one-hundred-percent normal. "U-Uh…Shikamaru…?"

Shikamaru didn't look away from Kiba guiltily. "Y…Yeah…?"

"I don't think this is our guy…"

"…Ya think…?"

Kiba cleared his throat nervously. "Um…I'm gonna say this is just a misunderstanding and let you leave my house..."

"Y…Yeah…"

"Consider us gone…"

_equilibrium_ xxxx

Neji's flashlight was dying.

It was a slow painful death that was probably more painful for Neji than it was for the goddamn flashlight. He swore aloud in a soft hiss under his breath as it started flickering dangerously. The small hole had led down into a slight cavern, and so far there was nothing there except for a few rafters up above him. He shined the flashlight quickly up into them now, desperate to finish his steady search of the place, but the flashlight finally went out.

Neji grit his teeth in frustration and gripped the stupid thing tightly in his fist, keeping the switch on. He should have done a battery check beforehand.

Too late now…

He sighed and decided to feel around. He walked backwards, letting his hands reach out behind him blindly in the dark, controlling his breathing and straining his eyes. Too dark. Nothing. It was cold, damp. Still that sound of something dripping, now from up above him. He felt the ground sloping and rising in different areas, bumpy. He clumsily grasped something behind him. It felt wooden. He pushed into it to see if it was a door.

That was a huge mistake.

The first thing he felt made him yell out in surprise. It was wet, and thick, and it was rushing all over him. Something smelled terrible, like something acrylic or irony. He could _taste_ it. It tasted like…a coin.

He felt something drench him. It was sticky. It was…_warm_. _Very _warm, it had a fresh feeling to it.

Neji felt his mouth drop open as realization struck him. His flashlight suddenly flickered back on. It was aimed up, at the ceiling, and it was pointed now at "the ACDC man".

The flashlight's beam was illuminating his chest, which was completely torn open. His heart was missing. His eyes, glazed over and empty of life, were popping out of his sockets, his jaw hanging open, his mouth gaping and cavernous in horror.

Neji had hit a board in the side of some wall, which had in turn moved aside a rafter above him, freeing the body that had been stuffed there. All the blood from the dead man's chest, was now pouring out. All over Neji.

Not for the first time, Neji wanted to kill something, and throw up.

The first thing he'd have to save for later. After he was done with the latter…

Ugh…

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

TenTen groaned as she shined her flashlight down the hole. It was a tunnel, deep and small and leading down into a lower level. She was inside the abandoned building. She and Shikamaru both. Shikamaru had gone another way, through a hole in the side of one of the levels of bricks, saying that there were more bloody handprints that way, so Temari must have been sent through that passage. He told TenTen to find Neji and do whatever he said, while he went to "save Temari's stupid sorry ass" and prove some sort of point that he wasn't very clear on.

But now…she had to go down _here_?

"I shouldn't have agreed to this…"

_"We are not going in there," TenTen whispered hysterically to Shikamaru. They were both in the alley, having followed Neji and Temari's tracks and a small trail of blood, and they were standing outside the first hole that led into the abandoned building._

_"You don't want to go in, suit yourself. I guess that just means Neji might get into __**a lot**__ of trouble."_

_"…What do you mean…?"_

_"Well, I'm gonna have to go after Temari, since she's at a higher risk here. So Neji will be __**all on his own**__…"_

_"…H-He's fine, he can…take care of himself, right?"_

_"Well, sure…Of course, there's always…the __**last time**__ we were up against a werewolf…"_

_"Wh…What happened…?"_

_"…Well…Neji's kind of ditsy, you know?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"His mind doesn't work fast enough to realize that sometimes, the monsters actually hide __**behind**__ you, not in front of you…"_

_"…What happened…?"_

_"He backed into a werewolf. And it went __**nuts**__. I mean, you should have seen Neji, his blood was __**everywhere**__, and after that, he was in __**so much pain**__ that he couldn't even __**move**__, so dad and I had to __**carry **__him to the car! Oh, and that's not the best part! He started having these __**nightmares**__ about evil gigantic __**dogs**__ coming to __**eat**__ him! It was starting to get __**so bad**__ that dad and I started shoving stuffed dogs under his __**pillow**__, just to scare him __**so much**__ that he didn't __**ever-**_"

_"-I'm in. Let's go. __**Now**__."_

Shikamaru was lying. TenTen felt like _such_ an idiot…

"Gah, that stupid son of a bitch…" she hissed in agony under her breath. She bent her knees and crouched down in front of the hole, shining her flashlight in and letting her gun dangle cautiously in her other hand. She grimaced, sticking her tongue out of her mouth, as she spotted the blood on the edges of the hole. "Bleh…" she muttered in disgust. "Can't this thing clean up after itse-?"

TenTen's sentence went interrupted. Something grabbed her, and she screamed into a large, thick hand. It swung her backwards into a smaller wooden closet that was behind a large board, moved out of place in a wall. TenTen was thrown into the darkness. Her flashlight was gone, she couldn't see, she felt herself stumble blindly to her feet, having been let go of by whatever had grabbed her, and she struggled numbly to find her way back to some light.

But suddenly, there was no need. Light was everywhere. She winced for a second, covered her unprepared eyes, and then, squinting painfully, she looked over her shoulder just in time to see a hairy hand slam the board back in place.

On the ground, a match was lit, and already half of the wooden chamber TenTen was inside of was on fire.

TenTen's eyes widened. "Shikamaru…?" He'd told her before his descent to call his name if there was an emergency. He said he'd try to be there, but in the meantime, she should work it out herself.

The flames got even larger in about three seconds. TenTen backed away from them, feeling a scream rising in her throat.

"_Shikamaru!_"

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Beautiful," he muttered glumly.

He'd followed Temari's trail. He knew she'd been here and there because he could see her footprints in the dust whenever he looked very closely. He could even see her hand dragging lazily along a stain of blood on the wall. He narrowed his eyes as he remembered that. The idiot was _bored_. Couldn't she handle herself?!

Now, he was looking down a tunnel. The beam of his flashlight couldn't reach the end. He unlocked his gun as silently as possible and stuck his tongue in his cheek. This was just great. A tunnel he had to bend to go through, a tunnel that he wasn't going to be able to turn around in. A tunnel he had no idea where it led.

"Just _beautiful_." He heaved a sigh, before he went in.

It was as cramped as he thought it would be. He could _smell_ the blood, and winced as his arms and the top of his head brushed against the walls and ceiling, which was sticky with it. It was humid, and his flashlight was flickering, batteries dying. He slapped the thing grouchily against his palm a few times, and it blinked back to life soon enough.

He looked up again, and raised an eyebrow.

A shadow was thrown against the wall farther down, illuminated by the flashlight's beam. It was in the shape of a person. Large, hairy, back bent. But surprisingly, to Shikamaru…

…_small…_

He blinked in surprise. "…Huh…"

The shadow twitched. Shikamaru's eyes widened, and he swore softly. The shadow moved again But then, it fled. Shikamaru watched the werewolf's form disappear, and he scratched his head. What the hell was this?

He moved forward again silently. Nothing happened. He could hear something skittering away, and noticed a curve in the tunnel he was down once he got far enough down the wall. That must have been where the werewolf disappeared through.

Shikamaru sighed to himself. "What a pain in the ass…" He had to follow it…

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

Neji heard the scream before he could move. It was yelled in a voice that he knew by heart.

"TenTen?!" He ran, not even thinking. His flashlight blinking rapidly, he threw himself through the dark and out of the hole above him, scrambling to find his footing as he slid, still covered in the dead man's blood.

"Shikamaru, help me out of here! _Shikamaru_!"

Neji blinked in surprise. A glowing, flickering light came from a board stuck into a wall, illuminating the entire cavern he was in. He ran towards it. Fire, glowing, the wood smoldering. Smoke was everywhere. "TenTen?" he called uncertainly.

Silence. A sharp pang came to his heart in worry. Neji ran forward and kicked the wood. It fell, and he had to stumble back, shielding his eyes, as the fire was fed, and got even larger. He heard coughing, and took his arm away from his eyes.

There was too much smoke. He couldn't see past the flames. There was a dreadful odor. "TenTen!" he yelled, gritting his teeth.

Finally, she came stumbling through the flames, coughing into her hands. Neji immediately lunged forward and grabbed her, pulling her out of the fire. He patted her arms quickly as he walked her clumsily over to the side and stomped out all the fire, then grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at him.

She was coughing, and covered in soot and the remains of burnt wood. He patted some sparks out of her hair, and wiped the ash away from her eyes. She could look up at him now, and she gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm okay," she said sincerely, then her eyes grew huge as the fire illuminated him. "What _happened_ to you?!" she cried, touching the side of his head in fright.

He blinked. "The blood…? Uh…it's not mine…" She stared at him wide-eyed, and he cleared his throat uncertainly and looked away; he hated it when she looked at him like that, it made a blush rush to his face…for some reason. "I'll tell you later." He frowned and faced the opening he'd sent Temari into. "Shikamaru went down there?" he gathered.

She nodded. "Yeah. The werewolf pushed me into that wooden room and lit it on fire, I guess it went back wherever Shikamaru and Temari are to finish them off too."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Then let's go."

muirbiliuqe

When Temari woke up again after being hit on the head with something painfully hard, she was sitting up, and something was tied around her eyes. It felt like a thin fashion scarf. She couldn't move her hands, which were tied at the wrist by what was probably another fashion scarf behind her back, and otherwise she felt fine.

This was weird. Why were only her eyes covered?

What didn't the werewolf want her to see…?

Suddenly, as if sensing she was awake, she felt herself being grabbed gently by the upper arms, and hoisted to her feet…Wait. Gently? What was going on? This thing was giving her time to stand. Those hands pulling on her arms and pushing her forward…they were kind of small for a full-grown male werewolf, weren't they?

What the hell was going on?

Suddenly the scarf was pulled from her eyes, and Temari gasped and immediately steadied herself.

She was standing on the edge of a wooden floor, right above a small lit cavern. The first thing she saw was Shikamaru walking around down there with his flashlight carefully. At the moment he seemed interested in a small stripe of blood smeared along a wall.

She felt hot breath near her ear, and again someone high pitched and hoarse spoke deeply. "Make a sound, and I kill the boy."

Temari thinned her lips, but narrowed her eyes. Wow, touchy much?

Ah, no way. She did _not_ obey _werewolves_. The only orders she followed were her _own_.

She closed her eyes and calmed her thoughts, then opened her eyes again and said loudly, "Hey!"

Shikamaru whipped around and held out his gun. And Temari jumped for it. She heard him shoot before hitting the floor, making sure her hand slammed into it first, and she swore in pain as she felt a sharp, white-hot pain spark through her wrist. She rolled to a sitting position, and Shikamaru jogged over. The werewolf had probably fled by now.

He got on one knee next to her and grinned proudly. "Hey, Betty Crocker! Need some help?"

"Shut _up_!" She groaned in pain, clutching her wrist. "I think I broke it," she explained when Shikamaru looked down at it.

"May I?" She gave him her wrist glumly, and he took it gingerly, turning it around. Temari winced; it was limp, and she could see that something pale and sickly had snapped inside of it. She looked away and let out a long, pained breath.

Shikamaru, however, was smirking away with that dumbass look on his face. "Yeah, it's broken, but it'll heal easily." He patted her wrist contentedly. "Looks like you needed my help after all, huh?"

She gave him the dirtiest of glares she could, and he laughed, and slowly took her arm. "Come on." She gracelessly let him help her to her feet and cradled her arm to herself grouchily. "You know, you're lucky you have demon blood, or that would probably hurt a lot more," Shikamaru said gleefully as she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.

"Shikamaru, stop bugging her!" Temari opened her eyes once more in surprise and turned with Shikamaru to see Neji and TenTen walking over.

Shikamaru blinked. "…Uh…what the hell happened to you guys?" Temari could say the same. TenTen was covered in soot and ash, and there were pieces of wood stuck in her long pigtails. Neji was completely covered from head to toe in red, sticky blood, his hair hanging strung together with the dark substance.

"We'll explain later," Neji said exasperatedly. "Where'd the werewolf go?"

"It ran away," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "Thanks to Better Crocker."

"Call me that one more -"

"Okay, okay, last time."

TenTen groaned. "Damn it! What are we going to do?! It could be anywhere in here!"

"Yeah, well, that's why I say we just lost it and use the dignity we got left to look for more suspects."

"Why, what do you mean?" Temari asked Shikamaru. He glanced at her, then at TenTen, who was smirking. "…You guys went after Kiba, right? Was he…" Temari suddenly felt a bit of a spark in her chest. "Was he home…?"

"Yes," TenTen said, still smirking at Shikamaru, who, Temari was watching carefully, had stuffed his hands in his pockets. "He was home. He was _sleeping_ when we came in. Completely caught unawares."

Temari turned to Shikamaru slowly, who glanced at her. "Okay, okay, listen, I-"

"Just don't even say anything," Temari muttered. She examined her wrist. "Well, I guess the good news is that we're all alive, and nonetheless unharmed, if broken bones don't count."

"So what now?" TenTen asked.

"Now…" Shikamaru said, walking over to Neji. He lifted a strand of Neji's hair and grimaced. "Now, we all take very long showers."

"Best idea of the night."

"I am so in."

Neji looked up at the strand of hair Shikamaru was lifting. "Can mine be _two_ hours?"

"Be my guest."

19

_**a/n: **_I was going to post this chapter sooner, but you'll never guess what happened to me. I got swine flu. I'm not even kidding. It wasn't _deadly_, but it _was_ a bitch. It didn't help that, when I got it, it was my time of the month, it was Thanksgiving Day, it was also my _birthday_, and my little sister ate my cake, the entire thing. However, as a present, I got the fourth season of Supernatural. So, as you may have guessed, all was forgiven. :)

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	20. Silver

equilibrium

20

_There is so much a man can tell you,  
So much he can say  
You remain  
My power, my pleasure, my pain_

"A-And…and that's all I can really say about my boyfriend." A sniffle, another loud hiccup. "I-I-I m-mean…I guess I-I sh-sh-should re-really s-s-say…m…m-my…my…" An outburst of sobbing. "My _ex_-boyfriend!"

Shikamaru decided now was a good time for Hidan to come and get him. He and TenTen stared numbly back at the man who sat across the coffee table in his apartment, sobbing and holding tightly in shaking hands a picture frame with the crumpled and tearstained photo of "ACDC guy", who they had recently found out in the newspaper was named Deidara.

TenTen inhaled from next to Shikamaru, then exhaled very slowly. "…Thank you…" she said slowly. "That was all he needed."

The man across from them, Tobi, looked up, wiping his teary eyes. "Th…That was all you needed?" It certainly hadn't been a gigantic surprise, at least to Shikamaru, that ACDC guy was gay. He seemed as if he was slightly overcompensating for something, in Shikamaru's opinion.

"Oh, yeah," Shikamaru stood up, stretching. "We've got all we need. Unless there's anything else you can point out to me. I mean, you said there's no one that could have _possibly_ held a grudge against your boyfriend."

"Well, I thought I'd…u…um…" Tobi's voice trailed off as his eyes followed TenTen's hand, which darted to the coffee table and grabbed one of the buttered scones that were steaming cheerfully on a platter.

She grinned contentedly and stuffed one in her mouth, then felt the other twos' stares, and blinked. "Uhm…Gow own," she said through a full mouth.

"Um…" Tobi cleared his throat and turned back to Shikamaru, who was closing his eyes impatiently. "I…thought I'd need to fill out some papers or something. I mean, you guys _are_ home security, aren't you?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "Oh, yeah, uh…We just have to ask questions, really. All we need is information. And we'll get it all written down soon enough." He took TenTen's upper arm and hoisted her gently to her feet; she was slipping the rest of the scone between her lips happily. "We have a lot of work to do, so we're gonna get going."

"A…Alright…" He sighed sadly and leaned back into the couch. "Thank you."

"No problem." Shikamaru began to steer TenTen towards the door, but suddenly Tobi stood up and said, "Wait." Shikamaru turned around, TenTen swallowed the scone and gazed curiously at the small brunette man who stood solidly in front of the sofa. "Um…There is one more thing."

"What's up?" TenTen asked friendlily.

"It's just…" Tobi cleared his throat wetly. "I…I was always the kind of guy that was looked down upon. I didn't really think there would ever be someone that would…really want me. But Deidara came, and I…" He wiped a tear from his face. Shikamaru watched him closely. "I…_needed_ Deidara. I loved him. We were…" He laughed grimly. "We were even thinking about getting married, and…you know, it was…it was a really healthy relationship, I can…barely believe it's over. Deidara was…everything to me, and…if you can figure out who did this to him, please…" He stared straight at Shikamaru. Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat. "Please tell me. Please."

Shikamaru said nothing. It was silent for a few seconds, before he could feel TenTen's hand on his arm, and hear her saying gently, "I'm sure someone will contact you once they get the information. Watch yourself, Tobi."

"…Thank you…"

Shikamaru let TenTen pull him out of the living room and close the door behind them. He still felt a little unsteady as TenTen let him go and hopped off the porch, taking out her cell phone to call Neji.

The look in Tobi's eyes…he kinda recognized it.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"So basically," Temari said after Shikamaru and TenTen had finished telling she and Neji in hushed tones about what had happened at their interview with Tobi, "we still don't have anything."

They were currently sitting in the living room of Kiba's apartment, inhaling the gentle scent of brownies baking in the kitchen. TenTen gleefully rubbed her hands together, eager. Kiba's sister, Hana, was in the kitchen now, letting them have a private conversation. When they'd first came over, intending to apologize to Kiba, she'd answered the door, and when they'd told her their situation (making the excuse that they'd accidentally accused Kiba of something wrong) Hana, recognizing Temari immediately, had invited them inside and offered to make them brownies. Definitely worth it.

Temari sighed and crossed one leg over the other, frowning as her eyes scanned the living room. She was sitting next to Neji (the two had been helping themselves to beer when Shikamaru and TenTen had first arrived), and seemed a little unnerved.

"Huh. I didn't know you liked The Cranberries."

Temari sent Shikamaru a look. He shrugged. "Come on, you can't try to tell me that it's 'business time' or something. We're only here to wait for your brothers to come with Kiba so we can apologize to the poor guy."

"I'm not mad about that, it's the fact that you're looking through my purse." She snatched the black bag away from him, frowning. "What are you, five?"

"I was just looking, jeez. What is it with women and not letting men look through their stuff?"

"…You can't be serious. My god, you're such a – _Hi_, guys, what's up?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as Kiba and Kankerou entered the house, Kankerou's arm around his boyfriend's waist.

Kiba glanced at TenTen and Shikamaru, who both fidgeted guiltily. "Uh, you're not gonna shoot me, are you?" he asked uncertainly as Kankerou, chuckling, guided him over to the middle of the living room.

"Yeah, we kinda came over here to apologize," TenTen said with a nervous laugh. "We were kinda…um…well, it was all his fault."

"What?!" Shikamaru swatted TenTen's pointed finger away from his face. "No it wasn't!"

"Well…you were speeding."

"Oh, I'm speeding down the road _once_ so suddenly I'm-!"

"You were speeding in _my_ car?" Neji glared at Shikamaru, who closed his eyes in irritation. "You know what, I told you, Shikamaru, you _screw up_ my car, and-"

"You'll break my wrist, yeah, I _know_, and I didn't screw it up, I know how to fucking drive! TenTen's the one being-"

"Don't blame this on _me_, I-!"

"Oh my god," Temari interrupted loudly, standing up and holding out her hands in frustration. She noticed Kiba and Kankerou staring at them awkwardly, and she sighed. "See what I've been dealing with here?"

"Yeah, it's almost worse than me and Gaara," Kankerou said with a grin.

"Well, it's okay," Kiba said with a laugh. "You guys don't have to freak out. I get it all the time."

TenTen paused. "Get…what all the time?"

Kiba shrugged. "Hunters. Making a big deal about what I am." Shikamaru shifted slightly in his seat. Kiba ruffled his hair with a hand. "It's not really anything I'll get mad about. I'm used to it."

"Even though you shouldn't be," Kankerou muttered. He sighed and slung an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders. "Oh well. What's done is done, and we're all coo'."

"All 'coo'? What's 'coo' mean?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Never mind. Ah, look, Gaara's here." Kankerou nodded his head to the screen door. Temari sat up slightly.

TenTen tilted her head to the side, watching the redhead enter through the screen door. There was a pixyish girl about his age with him, with short brown hair and large eyes to match. She looked a little nervous when she spotted Temari as Gaara closed the door behind him.

"…Oh, Temari! I heard you were back," the girl said as Temari leaned forward in her seat, eyes fixed, unblinking, on the brunette. Gaara turned around and noticed Temari, and TenTen could see his mouth form a silent curse word beneath his breath which Temari did not seem to catch.

"Mhm," Temari said distractedly, eyes scanning the girl. A wicked smile was curving her lips. "You're Matsuri, right?" Her smile widened. "Gaara's girlfriend?"

Matsuri's cheeks reddened. "U-U-Um, yes."

"Hm." Temari put her fingers to her chin thoughtfully. "I remember you. Yeah. Really sweet, real nice." Matsuri blushed harder. Temari grinned. "And great fashion taste," she added, nodding to the girl's outfit.

Matsuri smiled shyly. "W-Well, that's…that's great coming from you," she admitted with a laugh.

Temari sighed contentedly. "I know…" She turned to Gaara. "I approve."

"I didn't ask for your approval," he muttered, not looking at anyone and stuffing his hands in his pockets, annoyed.

"Well, you've got it," Temari said, as if that was everything the world needed.

TenTen snorted, and Matsuri glanced at her. TenTen grinned. "Hi, I'm TenTen." She pointed to Temari, and rudely snapped her gum casually. "Sorry about her. She's a bitch."

Temari leaned over and smacked her head. "I'm not a bitch, I'm reasonable," she said as TenTen rubbed her head moodily. It was silent for a few seconds before Temari snapped, "And if you say I'm 'reasonably a bitch' I will smack you again and this time I will kill you."

"I wasn't gonna say that!"

Temari noticed Matsuri was laughing by the door and faced her, and Matsuri cleared her throat. "Um…I guess you're really overprotective of your family, Temari."

She shrugged. "I guess. But to tell you the truth, it's all self-reliance, really." Matsuri blinked, confused, so Temari explained: "See, I compare myself to a stallion. Beautiful, graceful…"

'_Full of herself…_' TenTen added inwardly with a frown.

"…And, if you frighten me from behind, I'll kick you in the face…" Temari finished sweetly. Matsuri's eyes were huge. Temari stood up cheerfully. "I'm gonna go check with Hana to see how the brownies are coming along!" She wafted out of the room happily. Shikamaru's eyes followed her, an amused smirk on his face.

Matsuri stared after the door when she went through it. "She…kinda makes you feel better about yourself."

TenTen nodded. "Yes, she pretty much ups your self esteem, huh?"

"Totally."

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Alright, well, I'll be going then." Hana pulled her coat off the coat rack. Everyone in the living room was eating the brownies in content, and satisfied with their quietness, Hana had announced it was time for her to go to work. She smiled at Temari. "It's great to have you back."

Temari smiled back at her. "Nice to see you, Hana." She frowned, watching as the young woman slipped her coat onto one arm. "What happened?"

Hana blinked as everyone's attention was turned to her. "Oh, this?" She looked down at her arm, which was heavily bandaged all the way up to her shoulder, and laughed sheepishly. "One of the dogs tackled me. He was just trying to play around, but he got a little carried away."

TenTen perked up instantly. "Aw, you have dogs?!"

Hana nodded pleasantly. "Yes, six of them. I'm a breeder, and Kiba has a dog of his own."

"Aw! Kiba, you didn't tell me!"

Neji raised an eyebrow as Kiba laughed and apologized. He watched TenTen closely. She had a way of making fantastic interactions with other people. Already, she and Kiba had become particularly close. It was like every person she met was a friend to her.

"Akamaru? That's such a cute name!"

"Well, he's a cute dog. The cutest dog _ever_, you two would get along well."

"I _know_ it!"

Neji smiled.

"I'll see you guys later." Everyone turned to Hana, and Neji noticed a silver flash shine throughout the room as she adjusted a silver cross around her neck, and smiled pleasantly. "Have fun reminiscing."

She exited the apartment to the waves of the inhabitants, then Kankerou sighed and cracked his knuckles, waiting for her to get out of earshot. "So, I guess it's time to get down to business," he said at last, with a small smirk. "Shikamaru, Neji, you're the masters. What have you got so far?"

Shikamaru turned to Matsuri curiously. "Is she…?"

The girl, interested in her brownie, glanced up and smiled. "Oh, you mean the hunting thing? Yeah, I already know all about it. Gaara told me everything."

TenTen grinned. "Oh, good!" She reached over and grabbed three more brownies, and stuffed one into her mouth. "Just to let you know," she managed to say with full cheeks, "I'm not a pig. There's a demon attached to me, and it makes me hungry as _hell_."

"Oh." Matsuri laughed cheerfully. "Well, Gaara also told me about the werewolf situation. Is your wrist alright, Temari?"

Temari held up her broken wrist, bandaged tightly and already healing. "Luckily the demon blood keeps me up to date," she said with a grim sigh. "But really, this whole thing with the werewolf…We're at a dead end."

Neji nodded and leaned back in the sofa. "Honestly, the last time I hunted one I almost got killed. I'm surprised that I haven't seen the thing lately."

Kiba nodded sadly. "When we turn…we're not human," he said quietly, staring at his hands. "There's no morals left, there's no right and wrong. There's only hunger, and so much hate…I'm lucky _I_ have a bit of sanity left when _I_ turn." Kankerou smiled empathetically at his boyfriend and rubbed his back soothingly.

"When did it all start?" TenTen asked softly, watching Kiba.

He looked up, and shrugged. "Well…It actually happened a couple weeks after I came outa the closet. I was about eleven or twelve, and I was walking home late one night, and I got dragged into an alley. I woke up the next morning in my bed, and my sister was there. She said I'd been mugged."

Kankerou watched Kiba with a grim smile. Kiba scratched his cheek nostalgically and went on. "I never saw who did it, because I was knocked unconscious. But they did leave me this." He pulled his shirt collar down, and revealed an enormous bite wound.

TenTen winced. "Does it still hurt?"

"Nah, not anymore." Kiba let his shirt snap back to normal. "It did for a while, though. And for a while, I didn't even know what the hell was wrong with me. Finally, I started turning at night, and I was lucky I had the sense to stay locked up in my room. My sister never found out…" His voice faded sadly for a moment, but then he smiled and faced Kankerou. "But it helps to have my boo!"

"Oh shut it, puppy, before I lock you up for being too cute," Kankerou crooned silkily, poking his boyfriend's nose.

"Jeez, get a room," Matsuri said with a laugh, meanwhile clutching Gaara's hand like a childhood toy.

Kankerou suddenly seemed to be reminded of something, and he turned to look at Shikamaru and Neji. "Hey, you two…don't mind, do you?"

Shikamaru, who had been busy pulling a thread out of his sleeve, looked up. "Heh?"

"You know…" Kankerou tilted his head to the side and flashed his finger back and forth between he and Kiba. "The fact that we're gay."

"Yeah, I figured," Shikamaru said simply.

Neji glanced at Shikamaru and rolled his eyes. "What about it?" he asked Kankerou politely.

"You guys don't mind, do you?" Kankerou asked again suspiciously.

Neji blinked. "I have no problem with it."

"Yeah, one of my best friends was gay," Shikamaru said seriously.

"Who was that?" Neji asked interestedly, suddenly looking at Shikamaru.

"Sai."

"Oh, he came out?"

"Yup."

"Huh. I thought so. How's he doing?"

"Fine. He's still majoring in theatre, so obviously he's going crazy, making out with pillows…all that jazz."

"Hey, hey, hey." The two looked at Kiba, who was waving his hands in the air in front of his chest to get their attention. "You seriously don't mind?"

"Dude, if you're okay with it, we are," Neji said honestly.

"_O-_kay, moving on," Temari said loudly. Kankerou and Kiba were smiling at each other eagerly. "What are we gonna do next? That's what we need to find out, not all this sexual orientation shit."

"We could always get help from another hunter," Shikamaru suggested thoughtfully. "Neji? Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Possibly someone good with dogs," Kiba said with a grin.

Neji furrowed his brow, feeling all eyes on him, and scratched his chin. "Well, I have a couple connections, but I haven't really spoken to any…" His voice faded away.

He had it. He had it _perfect_.

"Good with dogs…you said?"

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Kakashi, hey."

"Shikamaru, Neji!"

TenTen tried not to let her mouth drop open. They were standing outside the strip mall they'd arranged to meet with Neji and Shikamaru's hunter friend at. Temari was walking Kiba home, she'd be meeting up with them soon.

And apparently their friend was not exactly what TenTen had expected. She thought that a hunter in his forties, as Neji and Shikamaru had described him, would be gruff, posses a bushy beard and a beer belly, etc.

But this man was absolutely gorgeous. Almost prettier than Neji, TenTen had to admit. His silver hair was silky and stood perfectly in waves and gleaming spikes. Dark eyes were framed by the pale skin of an attractive oval face, and the way he swung his arms carelessly as he walked gave a glint to his lovely smile.

"Wow, boys, you got big!" he said as he walked up to Neji and Shikamaru and grasped them both by the shoulders in a fatherly manner. "Look at you, you look good!"

Neji smiled. "Nice to see you, Kakashi."

"Glad you're here," Shikamaru said, slapping hands with the man and grinning.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be of use. I finally finished a terrible job up in Alaska, this place sure is a nice change to…to the uh…Huh…"

Kakashi's eyes suddenly caught on TenTen, who was sitting on the bench they stood at. TenTen smiled and waved friendlily. "Hi!"she piped up, feeling a small blush rising to her cheeks at the way he looked her over.

"Oh, this is TenTen," Neji said, gesturing down to her. "She's on the road with us."

"TenTen, huh?" Kakashi suddenly grinned. "Wow, you are the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

TenTen blinked. "Um…"

Suddenly, he whipped around, sat next to her, and flung an arm across her shoulders. TenTen stared at him in slight surprise as he said happily, "So, what's a cutie pie like you doing hanging around with these two boys?"

"…Neji saved my life," TenTen said stiffly, looking at Kakashi with stern seriousness.

Kakashi chuckled. "Neji? Who needs that kid?" He stared straight into her eyes and murmured seductively, "How would you like to get a taste of a _man_?"

TenTen slowly shook her head. Never mind. She may have never seen anyone more attractive. But she had also never felt more uncomfortable.

Neji cleared his throat suddenly, and Kakashi glanced up at him distractedly. He laughed merrily under Neji's glare and withdrew himself from TenTen, who immediately slid to the other side of the bench as far away from him as she could get. "Oh, sorry, sorry. I don't mean to steal your girl."

"She's not—" Neji cut himself off with his own frustration and gave a deep sigh.

Shikamaru smirked. "You're still the same, Kakashi."

"Yeah, yeah." Kakashi stretched nonchalantly. "So, who're we waiting for now?"

"Temari," Neji said evenly.

"Another woman?"

Shikamaru laughed aloud, and Neji said exasperatedly, "Yes…"

Kakashi snorted. "Sorry, but after TenTen I don't think I'll be impressed." TenTen, who had moodily been examining the chipped arm of the iron bench she sat on, slowly looked up to Kakashi to raise an eyebrow. "I mean," Kakashi went on with a chuckle, "no one could ever…be…"

A small pause, then:

"Son of a _bitch_."

And there she was, Temari walking down the sunny streets of Phoenix Arizona in all her glory. The other three rolled their eyes as Kakashi's widened in awe, looking over her tight black shirt, skinny jeans and tall black boots, the way her hips moved fantastically when she walked, her hair down and flowing behind her in a breeze. Her eyes were narrowed in a frustrated glare as she finally reached them.

"My god, this place is full of freaks," she muttered, then her eyes caught on Kakashi, who was stumbling to his feet, eyes never leaving Temari once. "Who are you?" Temari asked, slightly uninterested.

"Kak…Kak…Kak…" Kakashi stuttered.

Neji hit him in the stomach. "Kakashi," Neji finished for him as Shikamaru snorted.

"Oh, _you're_ Kakashi," Temari said, and she flashed him a smile, extending her hand towards him. "They were talking about you. I'm Temari."

Kakashi stared down at her hand, mouth slightly agape. Temari raised an eyebrow as they stood there in silence. Then finally, Kakashi looked up at her face and said in a squeaky voice that slightly resembled an adolescent boy:

"I would do you."

"Wh…_What_?!" Temari's mouth fell open. Neji slapped his forehead, and Shikamaru covered up his sniggers.

Kakashi was pushing past Temari in five seconds, obviously finding a reason to get the hell out of dodge. Temari stared after him, aghast, but TenTen stood and touched her arm. "Don't bother," she muttered.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Oi, Kakashi, we're goin' the other way. You comin' or what?" he called after the man, who stopped in his tracks and slowly turned over his shoulder.

He stared at Temari and TenTen, who stood next to each other, Temari glaring at him scarily and TenTen glancing back and forth sheepishly.

Finally, his mouth curled up into a small, weak smile. "Coming…"

"God," Temari scoffed angrily, turning her back on him. TenTen groaned under her breath. Definitely a hunter.

**e**_q_u**_i_**l**i**_b_r**_i_**u**m**

"Thanks, sweetheart," Kakashi said with a smile, nodding to the flustered little waitress who gave them their food. He was stuck next to Neji across the table from Temari and TenTen, who seemed to be shunning him. Shikamaru, on Neji's other side, had already predicted this. Kakashi had never been different than who he was now.

The waitress giggled and nodded hurriedly, rushing away with a small "E-Enjoy!" squeaked over her shoulder. Obviously she wasn't used to three good-looking men. Well, she made Shikamaru feel better about himself. The opposite of Temari across from him, who kept finding excuses to "accidentally" kick him under the table. She seemed to blame Kakashi on _him_, even though it was _Neji_ who had called him and asked for help.

"So…" They all turned to Kakashi, who smiled and cracked his knuckles. "What's this werewolf business you boys are having so much trouble with?" He smirked. "And don't be afraid to make it harder than it has to be. Werewolves are my specialty."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "We're just having trouble figuring out who the brainless thing is, that's all."

"Hey, hey," Kakashi said seriously. "It's no brainless. From what you've told me, it really knows what the hell it's doing."

"Then what are its motives?" Neji asked.

TenTen nodded. "Every victim has a clean record," she said. "And the connection is really weird. I can't see anyone who would know what they were doing, and still want to kill so many people for something stupid."

Kakashi leaned forward on the table, smiling brightly and facing her directly. "See, doll, I got the email you guys sent me when you called me up, and it seems you missed the most important connection of all." Shikamaru glanced at him curiously, and he said with slow finality, "They're all _gay_."

Temari blinked. "They…are…?"

TenTen groaned and let her head drop onto the table. "That doesn't help!"

"She has a point," Neji muttered. "We're only back to the beginning. _Kiba's _gay, and so that just gives him one more reason to be connected to all the victims. Even though we already figured out it's _not him_."

"Then it has to be someone else in the goddamn apartment, Neji," Kakashi said calmly, leaning back in his seat again with content. "Listen, don't go getting frustrated. I know what I'm doing."

"Then what do we do next?" Temari inquired impatiently. "What's our lead?"

Kakashi frowned thoughtfully and examined his knuckles. Then he looked up again, and glanced sideways towards Shikamaru. "Hey, you said you shot it, right?"

"…Right…" Shikamaru said slowly.

Kakashi's lips slowly curved up into a smile.

"Where?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened, and Temari's lips parted. TenTen picked her head off of the table.

Neji whispered, "You have to be kidding me."

The blood on the windowsill in her bedroom, the relation to Kiba, and most important of all, the injury to the arm…

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"Hana."

The woman turned in surprise over her shoulder. "Oh, Temari! I guess Kiba let you in, I didn't hear you." She straightened up.

They were in her room in her and Kiba's apartment. Moonlight flooded in from the window, bathing the bandages covering Hana's arm and shoulder and giving them an eerie whitish glow. Hana had been bent over a box, and she smiled now and held up a picture frame she'd been examining. "It's me and Kiba," she said with a small pleasant laugh, pulling some dark hair out of her face. "He used to be so cute when he was little."

Temari didn't say anything, just stared at her darkly with barely any expression. She had a gun hiden in her jacket pocket, and she was fingering it now.

Hana set the picture down and faced Temari, tilting her head to the side. "Is something wrong?" she asked slowly, seeing Temari's expression.

A noise came from the top of the door. Hana and Temari both looked up at Kiba coming in slowly from the doorway, closing it behind him. His face was pale, and there were circles beneath his eyes. He was sad, and scared, and angry. Temari could see it. "Hana…" he said slowly, and his voice cracked with anguish as he came to a stop.

Hana slowly turned back to Temari. "What…What's this about…?" she asked cautiously.

Temari revealed her gun in one slick movement and held it out cocked towards Hana. Hana stared at her, glanced at Kiba, whose eyes were narrowed, his mouth tilted in fury, and finally, looked down at her feet.

"You figured it out sooner than I thought you would," she said softly.

"Hana, how…?" Kiba's voice cracked, and he punched his forehead. "Shit," he whispered. He was trying not to cry, Temari could tell.

"Hana," Temari said steadily, "There's no way you can escape. There are two hunters waiting outside the apartment. And two more are back at my house, guarding my brother." She narrowed her eyes. "You know. Your brother's boyfriend."

Hana's hands started shaking. Temari raised an eyebrow but kept the gun steady. She knew this was going to happen. "This gun is filled with silver bullets, Hana," she said softly, staring at the older woman as blood dripped from her face; she was biting her bottom lip with razor sharp fangs. "One shot, and it will kill you."

"You wouldn't kill me…" Hana slowly said. Her voice was getting deeper, and raspier, and the hair on her arms started to grow. Temari watched as pieces of Hana's flesh flaked off and more and more hair started to grow on her body.

Kiba was staring at her from between his fingers. A tear slipped down his wrist.

"Hana, why would you kill those people?" Temari asked quietly. She knew it wasn't right to ask this woman something like this while she was turning. But she wanted to know. _Needed_ to know.

"You should be able to understand…" Hana barely managed to choke out. Her voice wasn't sunny and sweet anymore. It was dark. It was horrifyingly grimy and strained and throaty. It sounded like it would _hurt_ to talk. And it probably did.

"I just want an answer," Temari continued calmly. "That's all I want. An answer."

"Wouldn't you?"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Hana was shuddering too hard to articulate. The hair was growing so long that her skin could not be seen, except for the padding on her palms. Her loose white tank was stretching, her jeans expanded to hold her girth. Her long dark hair tumbled out of it's ponytail, and fell down her back to join the hair that covered her neck and face.

A few more flakes of flesh and dead skin fell from her, and the blood dripped to the carpet in small red globs. "Wouldn't…you…?" Hana said again. She sounded deep and dark. Angry. Like a monster.

"Wouldn't I what? Kill?" Temari kept her voice steady. "Why?"

"Why do you think?"

Hana turned her face so she was looking up at Temari now, and Temari, looking into her dark eyes, could suddenly remember the feeling of the hairy hands on her shoulders the night before. "Hana…" she said carefully. "You didn't want to hurt me."

Hana's lips moved to form a sad smile beneath the thick padding of her skin. Blood oozed from the crack near her chin. "Yes…" she whispered grimly. "I didn't want to hurt you. Because you know. You understand."

"Understand _what_?" Temari pressed again.

"_WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A GODDAMN OLDER SISTER!_" Temari jumped when Hana suddenly screamed at her. "_WHAT DO YOU THINK?!_"

The look in Hana's eyes was what was the scariest of all. It wasn't human. It was angry. It was absolutely _enraged_. Temari had never seen fury like this before.

Kiba took a hurried step forward, then paused, his hands out in the air next to him. "H-Hana, calm down…" he whispered.

Hana did, immediately. It was almost shocking the way she suddenly did. She glanced at the carpet, and suddenly fell to her knees. A thump vibrated the floor around them, and Temari moved to keep the gun aimed at the woman's head. "K-Kiba…I never thought you'd see me like this…" she whispered in agony.

"Hana…" Tears were filling in the boy's eyes like a clogged sink. "Why…You're a werewolf…?"

Hana shook her head, blood flying to and fro. "Why do you think I turned you, Kiba?" she asked softly.

Temari's eyes widened. Kiba stared at her. "You…turned me…?" he whispered.

Hana fisted a hand on the floor. "I was the one that bit you, Kiba, _yes_," she hissed. "Do you know why?" Kiba said nothing. So Hana answered for him. She looked up into his eyes, and said with an ugly glare, "You offended him."

Temari's eyes caught on a silver flash; Hana's necklace swung from around her thick hairy neck, glinting in the moonlight. The cross swayed. "You offended God," Hana whispered intensely, and her eyes flicked up to meet Kiba's.

"And I had to make you pay."

"O-Offended…God…?" Kiba gasped, eyes wide. "Hana, what are you talking about…?"

"What do you _THINK_?!" Hana's low voice came out in a ruffled scream as she pounded a fist into the bedroom floor. Again, the walls vibrated, and Temari could feel it in her legs. "_You_, Kiba, the goddamn choice you made!" She suddenly reared forwards, her hands sliding out in front of her, staring up at the boy as if prepared to attack. "You and your boyfriend," Hana cried, tears and blood falling from her wretched face at the same time. Her stained teeth glinted maliciously. "You've ruined _everything_!"

"What are you _talking_ about?!" Kiba asked again, but he knew what she meant. Temari stared between them, the gun never moving from Hana's face.

"You're _GAY_!" Hana shrieked. She let a sob escape her. "You're gay…" she repeated hysterically. "And you've insulted—"

"—No…"

Kiba and Hana turned to Temari, who shook her head, eyes wide and staring down at Hana, appalled. "You…You're actually so mad about his orientation that you're taking it out on everyone in the town who's _gay_?" Hana stared at her wordlessly. Temari shook her head, barely able to believe it. "You're not even going to try to accept who he is, and instead you're going to—!"

"—Who are you to criticize me?!" Hana sobbed wetly. "Who are you to tell me what to do with my family?!"

"In case you haven't noticed, you're not the only big sister in the room!" Temari said loudly. Hana silenced herself, glaring at Temari, a rumble rising in her throat. Temari fingered the gun longingly as she frowned down at Hana. "What kind of older sibling are you?" she asked menacingly. "What kind of person would deliberately hurt their little brother, and then set an example like…like killing people just like him?!"

"Exactly!" Hana cried. "I'm setting an example! He ruined this family!"

"What kind of person _are_ you—?!"

"—_NOT A PERSON_!" Hana cried, and suddenly she lunged forward.

Temari hadn't been expecting it. Hana's claws ripped through her shoulder like paper, and her palm swiped at her face and sent her flying across the room.

Everything went black for a while, and Temari could taste the blood in her mouth and rushing out of her nose. She felt herself lying on the ground once she got her feeling back, and then she felt the pain tearing across her angrily. She groaned aloud, a hand dashing up to her shoulder where the wound spilled blood like water.

"HANA!" Temari could hear a scuffling noise, could hear Kiba crying out to his sister in anguish. "Hana, _STOP IT_!"

Temari rolled over and quickly got her bearings. She was lying at the foot of the wall on the other side of the room, and she could see, suddenly, Hana holding something out the window; the silver bullets.

Hana made eye contact with Temari, then dropped them.

Temari's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't good. This was definitely not good.

Temari pulled herself into a sitting position clumsily against the wall, hearing the rushing in her head as her vision swam strangely. Hana was saying something to Kiba, but her ears were ringing too loudly for her to hear it. Temari took deep breaths to get her bearings back, and as she recovered, she wondered: How could one person feel so much hate? Kiba hadn't turned out like this. Hana must have been born with this curse, but even so, what was the difference? Why was Kiba so contained? What held him back from killing and hurting and hating?

And that was when it clicked, and Temari smiled.

She threw herself forward without thinking towards Hana, and grasped at her neck. She knew there was no chance, but it was worth the try, because her fingers wrapped around what they were looking for: the necklace.

Hana immediately lunged a clawed hand towards Temari's throat, but Temari dodged it quickly, and as she did so she pulled as hard as she could, and successfully ripped the necklace from Hana's neck.

Hana didn't seem to notice it, because as Temari stumbled backwards away from Hana, Kiba jumped in front of her, arms wide, and said, "Stop it, Hana, _stop_ it!"

Temari took this distraction for advantage and looked around wildly for her gun, spotting it on the bed nearby. She ran for it, and threw herself into the bed, bouncing and crawling towards it. She heard the cry of Kiba behind her, and the thud as he landed against the door, and then she felt claws.

She cried out in pain as they sunk into her ankle, one hand closing in around her skin and yanking her back. She could see the gun sitting near the pillow, and she grabbed the headboard desperately to stay on the bed.

Kiba ran forward again and grasped Hana's neck, pulling her hard. Temari cringed at the pain on her ankle, and her elbow accidentally knocked the gun even further away from her. She swore aloud and used her other leg to kick Hana hard in the face.

Hana yelped and fell backwards, and Temari dragged herself forward, grabbed the gun, and stuffed the necklace into it. She heard another cry from Kiba, and another thump, and this time, he was silent. She felt a fury she hadn't felt in a long time, and whipped around, facing Hana.

Hana stood over her unconscious brother's body. Blood covered her hairy hands, which were shaking. Tears fell from her eyes, and she looked up at Temari. Her eyes seemed to beg, "Please", but Temari paid no mind.

Three loud shots rang through the house that night, and it was silent after that.

muirbiliuqe

"Hey, you gonna eat that or just stare at it?"

Temari turned in surprise, and smiled grimly. "What's up Hayley Joel?"

Shikamaru smirked and walked over. They were in the living room of Temari's house. She held a brownie in her hand.

Kiba, it had turned out, had only been knocked unconscious, and neither he nor Temari were dealt any serious injuries in the fight.

Hana had been burned in Temari's backyard that night under the full moon. Kiba brought roses. He said Hana liked the smell.

It was true that Hana was a sweet woman in life, Temari knew that. And she was cursed with a monster in her blood which turned her into something…not human. Something driven by hate, and pain, and anger, and forced to take out all that rage on one thing. And that was the closest thing to it.

Kiba found flattery in this. Said it was the care that Hana had for him that turned her into something so evil. The blood in her had finally boiled once they returned from China, and seeing him with his boyfriend so much was just the last straw.

Now, two days later at five o'clock in the morning, it was time to leave. The chills from the early winter air swept in from Temari's open door, rattling the screen. Neji and TenTen were out front in the street at the car, packing their things into the trunk.

Temari set the brownie down on her coffee table with delicacy, and sighed. "I'm not really hungry," she mumbled, staring at it.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, it's not like you can taste."

Temari laughed and nodded in agreement. But it was all under their breaths. Whether that was because it was so early in the morning, or because they were tired from the job, or because of something else, they didn't care.

Shikamaru looked around the living room. Temari joined him. It was cluttered, as usual. She could remember all the different places she'd been playing with her brothers, or tripped over things, or spilled something. She could see the sofa that her father had sat on one day and declared how much he loved Gaara's eyes, even though they weren't his own. She could see the stereo where her mother had leaned on and told Temari it was her responsibility what happened to her family from now on.

She turned to Shikamaru again, who was looking over the living room still, and raised an eyebrow. "Saying goodbye to the place?"

He turned to her. "…Maybe to you too…"

She blinked. "What?"

Shikamaru took his hands out of his pockets and clasped them together. "I'm kind of…I'm kind of speaking for everyone when I say this. But you don't have to leave."

Temari watched him carefully. "Shikamaru, I can't—"

"—You can stay," Shikamaru interrupted in correction. "I mean, why not? You've got so much here that you can live for, why not?"

Temari shook her head. "Shikamaru, there's nothing to live for here, I already told you."

He sighed. "Temari—"

"—No!" She groaned aloud and stomped her foot, frustrated. "No! You listen to me, Hayley Joel!" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I left for a reason," Temari said, eyes glaring straight into his. "And I'm staying gone for a reason, and that reason is you, you ass."

Shikamaru was silent, then he coughed and looked her over. "…So you're staying because I'm an ass," he said sarcastically.

Temari frowned. "Shut up. I'm trying to say that…Well, you're going to die." Shikamaru paused and looked up into her eyes again. "You're going to die," Temari repeated rustically. "You're gonna go straight to Hell. And I don't want to rub it in your face or anything, but you're not making it easy on yourself."

Shikamaru stared at her inquiringly, and Temari lowered her voice, saying earnestly to him, "I can't smell or taste. But I can hear and see, and I can hear and see you in your sleep." She took his arm in her hand angrily. "You're crying all the time, and you're in so much pain. And then you wake up, and you pretend it's all okay, but it's not. And you're telling me to just…to just back out of it? To hang you out to dry?"

Shikamaru stared into her eyes, and then laughed, and shook his head. "No," he murmured. "No. You're not that kind of woman. I get it."

Temari grinned. "Told you." She let his arm go. "You're not gonna get rid of me easily. Besides…" She reached over behind the coffee table and pulled up with great effort a large backpack. "I'm already packed."

Shikamaru blinked, then broke out into laughter. Temari rolled her eyes and walked over to him, dumping the bag in his hands. "Carry it out there, would you?"

"What, is this my punishment for bringing you along?"

"Nah, I just need to keep those nice thick arms of yours in shape," Temari teased.

Shikamaru chuckled, then he paused. "Wait, um…" He faced Temari, who looked up at him curiously. "I forgot to say sorry."

"…For what?" she asked slowly.

He shrugged. "You know. For all that shit I started with Kiba. I dunno, I guess I just didn't trust you, because sometimes, when I look at you..." He gazed at her firmly, a little confused. "I don't really..I just don't see _you_, you know? It's like you're fake..." He laughed. "But I'm just being stupid. You're real. You're you." He smiled. "I don't know if I can trust you completely yet. But I know that...if you're not giving up on me, I'm not giving up on you."

Temari watched him, and her lips curved up a bit. "Okay," she said gently. She turned and looked back at the place.

Shikamaru watched. "You're not going to say goodbye to your brothers?"

"No," Temari said softly, smiling at the sofa and the stereo. "I'm not the goodbye kind of person."

"You're not gonna miss Phoenix?"

"Not really. It's kinda of like a vacation. I don't know where I'm going, when I'll be home. If I'll ever be home at all. I don't even know what's going to happen to me. But I don't care either." She grinned. "I care about something else now."

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"Did you apologize thoroughly to Temari for that Kiba thing?"

Shikamaru looked down at TenTen as she sat next to him. He was sitting on top of the car, a cigarette hanging limply between his fingers puffing smoke into the air, a beer bottle in his other hand. "Yeah," he said, looking out again at the trees. Neji and Temari were in the gas station getting food, and they were taking a short break from driving through Northern Arizona.

"How did she take it?" TenTen asked. She too had a beer. Neji and Temari had granted them back Shikamaru's ability to occasionally go off on his own, TenTen's gun, and access to alcohol.

Shikamaru shrugged. "She took it pretty good," he said honestly.

TenTen smiled. "She would."

"What's that supposed to mean, kiddo?" Shikamaru asked with an amused smirk. He took another swig of his beer.

"I dunno," TenTen tilted her head to the side, gazing, too, out at the trees in the distance. "I guess, you're just going through more than we ever will." Shikamaru paused and looked to the side at TenTen. She met his gaze with firm eyes. "You're going to die, Shikamaru," she said quietly. "And there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it."

Shikamaru nodded slowly, and turned back to looking at the trees. His eyes reflected the leaves, as his head cleared of thought. TenTen as well looked out at the trees again. It was silent for a while, except for the chirping of birds. The air was beginning to get nippy, the farther north they went the colder and more wintery it got. The forests surrounding them were half-bare, half-bushy.

A strong wind pushed at them, and TenTen shifted thoughtfully on the car. "But you know what…" she said suddenly. "I'm going to try anyways." Shikamaru blinked and looked over at TenTen. She faced him with a smile. "I'm gonna try anyways," she repeated. "You're worth it, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru smiled back at her. She nodded. "I mean, who's gonna be my partner in crime? The youngest two here, ya know? Driving Neji and Temari crazy?" Shikamaru laughed, and TenTen giggled. She took a sip of her beer and stared out at the pavement beneath them.

"We can't let them win, Shikamaru," she said softly. "We can't let them get to us. I know, that some day, we're going to step up, and they're going to know that it's our turn." She clenched her beer tightly. "Maybe that'll be the day we die," she said under her breath. "But it'll be worth it."

Shikamaru closed his eyes as TenTen said quietly, "It'll all be worth it."

It was silent after that. Somewhere in the woods nearby, a stray dog howled. It was sad, and lost, and lonelier than anything.

20

**_a/n: _**I apologize for the long wait, and the incredible length of this chapter. This fanfiction is particularly challenging to write. But I have so much fun, it's worth it. On an unrelated topic regarding shameless self promotion, please vote on the poll on my profile. It's a question many of you may be interested in, and something I'm very curious about.

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	21. Bullets

equilibrium

21

_To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny  
Won't you tell me, is that healthy?  
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray_

**_"Hurry up, Kimimaro."_**

_The man with long white hair turned over his shoulder. He was in the living room of a small house, and he had been bending over his desk to find his wallet, buried beneath paperwork. Among these papers lay askew a small brochure. On it was a picture of a happy family hiking through a rocky terrain with smiles on their faces, a large body of sparkling, clear water in the distance behind them. In bold blue words read __**Fourmile Lake, Klamath County**__._

_"I'm comin' Shino." Kimimaro slipped his wallet into his pocket and faced his open front door. Outside, it was dark. Stars littered the sky, outlining the shape of a bespectacled man standing in the doorway. Both men were gruff, and wore large leather jackets the styles of the countryside._

_"Shino, it's been a while." A woman suddenly appeared, rounding the corner of the small peach living room. She was in a bathrobe and had long, orange hair tossed lightly over her shoulder. Her dark eyes were curious, and Kimimaro smiled when he and Shino noticed her._

_"Nice to see you again, Tayuya," Shino said casually as Kimimaro leaned on his desk, looking her over._

_"Sorry baby, did I wake you up?" Kimimaro asked._

_Tayuya shook her head. "I wasn't asleep, I was looking over some music." She lifted in her hand a few bunches of paper, notes marked on them darkly with ink. "You guys goin' fishin' this late in the day?"_

_Shino chuckled at her sarcasm. "Night's the best time to go fishin'."_

_"We're goin' bowling then out for a drink with a few friends," Kimimaro explained with a laugh. "That is if you don't mind."_

_Tayuya smiled and shook her head. "Naw, that's alright. I'll be working on my music all night." She raised a thin eyebrow, though, and said slyly, one hand locked behind her back, "You forgot something though, baby."_

_Kimimaro blinked in confusion. "What's that."_

_Tayuya pulled out from behind her back a small silver rifle. It glinted in the light from the lamps, and Kimimaro frowned and patted around his belt. "Huh!" he said, looking up again to walk over to her. "I could've sworn I had it on me!"_

_"Yes, and since I gave you the money to buy this for your birthday two years ago, I don't know how you could've forgotten it," Tayuya said sarcastically, and Kimimaro laughed, taking the gun from her and leaning down to kiss the top of her head._

_"Sorry about that, baby. I barely ever leave the house without it."_

_"Man should always have a gun on him," Shino agreed from the doorway._

_Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Have a good night, boys," she called as the two men turned to leave._

_"Good night," Shino called back, and Kimimaro said, "Remember to lock the doors, baby."_

_Tayuya turned and walked over to the sofa as the door clicked behind her. She sat down and spread the music flat against the coffee table, humming to it as the sound of the car starting and driving away down the street faded through the walls._

_As she hummed, playing with her long hair in her palms, she barely noticed the lights flickering on and off._

_She paused and looked up. The living room was lit dimly by the golden glow of two strong standing lamps, one on either side of the sofa. Tayuya stood warily and walked over to one of them now. It had stopped flickering, but when she got closer to it, it started all over. The other lamp did as well._

_Tayuya frowned and leaned over to it, tapping the glass a few times. It stopped flickering after a couple seconds, and Tayuya stood frozen, watching and making sure it was done. "Huh," she mumbled beneath her breath, and she turned to walk back to the sofa._

_As soon as she'd made her first step, the lights began to flicker again._

_Tayuya stopped in her tracks and hissed out a long sigh in exasperation, turning around again. Humming the music again to calm herself, she walked back over to the same lamp, and tapped it again, this time harder and more confidently._

_The lights stopped and returned to normal. Satisfied, Tayuya gave the glass one last little slap, and turned away._

_She was halfway to the sofa, when the lights began to flicker again, and this time it was only for a while before they completely went out._

_She gasped in surprise at the sudden wash of darkness that flooded her living room. She shivered, pulling her bathrobe closer to herself, and turned to the lamp, groaning under her breath as she walked back over to it one more time. She pulled on the chain that turned the light on. Nothing happened. "Oh for the love of…" She heaved a sigh as she tried a few more times with no avail. "Shit. This is just wonderful." She let the chain go, and it clanked against the metal of the base of the standing lamp._

_**Ding**__…_

_Tayuya frowned at the sound it made, echoing again and again off her ears as the chain repeatedly swung back and forth with momentum, hitting the base over and over again._

_**Ding, ding, ding**__…_

_Tayuya paused._

_**Ding, ding, ding…**_

_The noise wasn't stopping. Wasn't this far too long to be continuing it's swinging? She slowly turned her head over her shoulder, and stared at the chain._

_As if there was a strong wind forcing it to move, it continued to hit against the base without anything pushing it. Like a swing moving with no one on it._

_**Ding, ding, ding…**_

_Tayuya's eyes widened, and then, there was another sound in her ear._

_She whipped around to face a pink-haired young woman standing barely an inch behind Tayuya._

_Tayuya shrieked and stumbled backwards, clutching her bathrobe to her. She stared at the woman, frozen for a few seconds, before she gasped "S…Sakura?!"_

_Sakura's green eyes were hooded. She was pale and drawn, and looked tired. "Tsunade needs more," she said in a dark monotone._

_'Wh…What?!" Tayuya cried. "Sakura, what are you doing in my house?!"_

_Sakura did not say a word, but she advanced towards Tayuya slowly, each step forcing Tayuya back further against the wall._

_**Ding, ding, ding**__…_

_"Tsunade needs more…"_

_"What the hell are you talking about, Sakura?" Tayuya hissed, getting a little defensive. "Answer me, what's wrong with you?!"_

_**Ding, ding, ding…**_

_Sakura slowly lifted her hand, which had been dangling near her thigh and out of view, to show what was held in it._

_A gun, a shiny silver rifle. Almost identical to Kimimaro's._

_"Tsunade needs more."_

_**Ding, ding, ding…**_

_Tayuya's eyes were huge. "Oh god…" she whispered, staring at the gun as Sakura pointed it straight at Tayuya's head. "S-Sakura! What are you doing?!" Sakura kept advancing, and tears spilled from Tayuya's eyes. "Please, Sakura, I didn't do anything!" Tayuya cried._

_"Tsunade needs more."_

_**Ding, ding, ding…**_

_Sakura started to hum the tune that Tayuya had been singing along to earlier. Her eyes were low, glassy; insane._

_Tayuya couldn't take anymore. With a single terrified scream she ran for it, pushing clumsily past Sakura and throwing herself down the hall. She slammed into a wall, and pulled herself along it, shuddering and weeping from fear, to fling herself into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her and locking it._

_She sprinted through the darkness, stumbling and falling as she went, and grabbed the phone. She held the receiver to her ear, and whimpered in disbelief; there was no signal._

_"Tsunade needs more."_

_Tayuya shrieked and fell backwards against the wall, pressing herself to it, seeing the outline of Sakura, bathed in moonlight from the open window, holding out the gun towards her._

_"__**NO!**__"_

_Tayuya's terrified scream was even louder than the three gunshots. The red of her blood sprayed along the peach wallpaper behind her, clashing grotesquely._

_"Not enough," said Sakura's voice. "Not enough."_

_**Ding, ding, ding**__…_

The roar of a train was what awoke Shikamaru. Flashes of the brochure, the music, and the blood on the wall swept in front of his eyes before a bright light fixture on the ceiling burned his vision. He closed his eyes and rolled over. His stomach turned, and he coughed, feeling sweat accumulating on his forehead.

He barely heard over the pounding in his ears the door to the small motel room open, and could barely make out Neji's outline as he entered, a large bag filled with beers under one arm, and a beef jerky hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

He turned around cheerfully as he closed the door, then he paused, eyes widening when they caught sight of the younger man. "…Shikamaru?!" he asked, immediately concerned and dropping the beef jerky into his hand.

Shikamaru's heart pounded, and his hands shook, but he managed to pull himself to a sitting position on the bed, and stared at Neji, catching his breath.

On the other bed, Temari sat there, her chin resting on her knees. She was frowning as she watched Shikamaru. She'd been watching him for a while.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

At Shikamaru's request they didn't stop driving except for a few times to refill on gas, even when it hit midnight and all four of them were exhausted. By now, Neji seemed about ready to light something on fire, and only TenTen's constant soothing chatter and shoulder massages kept him going.

But even so, he had a headache like no other. Trying to concentrate on driving and on TenTen's gentle hands rubbing his back, Neji cleared his throat. "Shikamaru, you're _sure_ it's in Oregon."

Shikamaru, who had been resting his head against the window gazing out at the pitch black road and the brilliantly gleaming rows of streetlights, turned his face over his shoulder. He was tired, it was evident, and pale; probably feeling sick, Neji knew. "I'm sure," he said quietly. His voice was weak. "I saw a picture of Klamath County, and a lake Oregon's known for…"

Neji shook his head and gazed out the windshield. Speeding up, he swerved around another car impatiently, the motor roaring. TenTen's fingers tightened on his shoulders. "I don't know about this, man," he said darkly. "I mean, usually your freaky dreams are connected to Hidan in some way. But what, this time it's Tsunade?"

Shikamaru said nothing and rested his head back on the window. Neji frowned, seeing this from the corner of his eye. "I don't like this," he muttered.

"It could be a trap," TenTen agreed.

"Trap or not," Temari said darkly," if we've got a snowball's chance, we might as well take it."

"Yeah, but I mean…" Neji sighed. "Shikamaru, are you sure there wasn't any…_demon_ business?"

"No."

"No black smoke, no exorcisms? Nothing?"

"I already told you," Shikamaru said loudly, his voice tired. "That Sakura chick plugged some lady, there was some talking about Tsunade, and that was it. I saw the blood, that's the last thing I remember."

"Well this would be a hell of a lot easier if I knew what the fuck I was up against," Neji growled. "I mean, am I gonna have to kill some random chick?"

"I hope not…" Shikamaru said under his breath.

Neji paused, and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "What's that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru said nothing, but he glanced at Neji quickly. Neji narrowed his eyes. "I mean, I'm not gonna waste an innocent person," Neji insisted.

"I never said you would."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Temari sighed loudly, and Shikamaru closed his eyes again. "Listen, we don't know what it is, but whatever's going on I got a glimpse of a couple people who're a part of it. So let's find 'em, and see what's what."

"Fine."

"Fine."

TenTen removed her hands from Neji's shoulder's briefly, and Neji bit his cheek, trying to calm himself down, and trying to keep his eyes open.

The hum of the car echoed down the empty road of Tennessee. The highway stretched before them like an open mouth.

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

Klamath County was a small damp town in the middle of nowhere. It was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone and they never got tourists, with only one school system and a single historical site with nothing very impressive.

Clouds covered the sky. Small flurries of snow fluttered down. Shikamaru gazed out the window, his head still pounding.

"Kinda creepy," TenTen noted quietly as the car rolled cautiously along a tiny road.

"I wonder if anyone here's ever seen a revolving door," Temari agreed under her breath.

"Shikamaru, keep an eye out," Neji said. "See if you can recognize anyone."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Neji," he said impatiently, looking away from the sky, "I seriously doubt I'll…I…Ah…"

A small blinding flash of white dashed before his eyes as a new wave of pain rolled over his head. The only thing left to do, Shikamaru forced himself to sightlessly press his forehead against the cool glass of the car window, hissing painfully beneath his breath.

"Shikamaru…?!"

_"You're going to die."_

He could barely feel the cool of the window anymore, his entire body was going numb. His head pounded over and over again.

"Hey, are you alright?!"

_"You're gonna go straight to Hell."_

"Shikamaru, come on, man…!"

Shikamaru groaned aloud. He fisted his hands against his forehead. Nothing would make the pain go away.

_"And there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it."_

"There."

His eyes snapped open as he heard Temari's low rustic voice speaking from over his shoulder. And all the pain was gone.

Temari's hand was cupped to his forehead, and her eyes were black. "There," she said again, staring directly into his own eyes. He gazed into the dark pools, saw the swirling, glinting evil that lurked inside of her.

It was chilling.

The blue returned, and Shikamaru looked away. Neji's hand was on his shoulder, gripping him tightly. "Shikamaru?" Neji said again, but less urgently this time. Shikamaru almost smiled at the concern and frustration.

"I don't know," Shikamaru said darkly, pressing his forehead again to the window and answering everyone's unspoken question. The entire car was silent.

Shikamaru could see TenTen staring at him from her reflection in the window. There was dark meaning in her expression. Shikamaru closed his eyes, and tried to breath.

"I don't know what happened."

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"…I don't believe it."

"What?" Neji asked, turning to Shikamaru.

Temari looked up. They had been driving around for about fifteen minutes, and had already almost figured out the entire layout of the tiny town. Now, Shikamaru was sitting up, pointing out the window and craning over Neji's shoulder. "He was in my dream," Shikamaru said in a low voice.

The other three stared out the smudged window to see who Shikamaru was referring to; a bespectacled man sitting on a wooden porch, cleaning a fishing rod.

Neji frowned and parked the car on the other side of the street. Temari climbed out of the Impala and waited as Neji paid the meter, and to pass the time she watched Shikamaru. He was leaning on the car, hands stuffed in his pockets moodily. It was apparent that he was still a bit shaken up about what had happened earlier.

"Let's go," Neji said, and Temari frowned and turned away from Shikamaru. She was still a little concerned though, and as they waited to cross the street, she wondered: Was there anything _she_ could do?

And then she wondered why she wanted to know…

They crossed the street, and slowly approached the man on the porch. Shikamaru led the way determinedly, eyes narrowed.

As the four of them came to a stop in front of the man Shikamaru said a short "Morning."

He looked up, and smiled friendlily and replied, "Morning, can I help you," in a pleasant voice.

Shikamaru reached into his jacket and pulled out his fake ID, and Neji did the same. "Yeah. Herald Dolland, Larry Richards. US Marshals." He nodded to Temari and TenTen. "These are our subordinates." The two women glowered subtly.

The man with the fishing pole sat up, eyebrows raising from behind his tinted glasses. "Shino…" He greeted cautiously. "And what's this about…?"

"We understand you were one of the last to see a young woman," Shikamaru said. "Tayuya, I think her name was…"

Shino sighed and nodded, clearing his throat. "Yeah…Me and her husband Kimimaro went out bowling late at night. We left her alone in the house and…Well, you know what happens. Crazy folk sneak in…" He ran a hand over his chin. "But I'm afraid that's all I can tell ya."

Neji suddenly stepped forward a bit and looked down at Shino's arm. On it was placed an intricate tattoo, half hidden by his rolled-up sleeves, but what _was_ showing were two guns crossed against each other. Neji suddenly smirked. "I think you can still help us out," he said confidently, "Master Sergeant."

Shino looked up at Neji and smiled. Neji nodded. "My dad was in the core, he was a corporal," he explained casually.

"What company?"

"Echo 2-1," Neji replied automatically. "So I'm sure you can give us _something_ at least. See, we're lookin' for someone."

"She'd have pink hair," Shikamaru prompted immediately. "In her mid twenties…"

Shino laughed. "Pink hair?" He chuckled. "Sorry, son, I haven't heard of no pink-haired girl 'round here. We're all pretty normal."

TenTen tilted her head to the side and suddenly spoke up. "Well then, can you tell us where Tayuya's husband is?"

Shino paused. "Her husband? Eh…" He picked at his fingernails, and nodded. "Ah, yeah. He's actually up with Danzo right now, down Crawly Way." He pointed around a large balcony to a tall hill nearby. "Pro'lly want to go easy on him though," Shino added. "He's been through a lot."

Neji nodded. "Alright. Thank you."

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

As they were walking back to the car, Shikamaru sighed loudly. "I don't know what to do…" he muttered.

"What're you griping about?" Neji asked, looking at him.

"Neji, whatever, I saw in my head sure wasn't good," Shikamaru said darkly. "And now, we can't find a lead on that Sakura girl. We need help, man."

Temari sighed. "Help? Again? What, are we getting _that_ soft?"

"No, he has a point," Neji said, frowning and getting out his cell phone. "We should call Kakashi, or Ino…Maybe even…Hmm…"

"What's wrong?" TenTen asked automatically.

"I don't have a signal," Neji muttered, moving his cell phone around in the air.

Shikamaru whipped his out as well. "Huh…" he said, examining it. "Me neither."

TenTen and Temari tried as well. "Nothing," Temari said curiously.

TenTen looked around, and spotted a telephone booth at the corner of the sidewalk they were walking on. "Here…" She led the way, striding over and picking up the phone immediately. She held it to her ear and tapped the receiver. Once, twice, three times, before she hung up. She turned to the others, blowing some bangs out of her eyes. "Line's dead," she said cautiously.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Well I'll tell you what, if I was about to massacre a town…that's the first thing I'd do…"

muirbiliuqe

With no other alternative, they decided to check out the house where Kimimaro was said to be. Neji and Shikamaru went ahead, while TenTen and Temari, bored, decided to stay in the car.

As they walked up to the house, Shikamaru said to Neji under his breath, "Do you feel it?"

Neji glanced at Shikamaru, pulling his hair out of his face as a strong lukewarm breeze wafted by, rustling the blossoming candlenut trees lining the walkway. The dark blue clouds covering the grim sky swept above them. "Feel what?"

Shikamaru met his gaze grimly. "I dunno man…" he said darkly, "But something's really off here…"

Neji nodded slowly and faced forwards, climbing ahead of Shikamaru up the steps to the porch. "Yeah," he agreed. "I feel it."

They stood on the porch together, and Neji rang the doorbell. The door opened quickly enough, and an older man with a walking stick came into view. He looked up at the two men. "Good morning. Can I help you?" he croaked politely.

"Yeah, US Marshals," Neji introduced themselves. "We're lookin' for Kimimaro, is he here?"

The older man blinked curiously. "Yes, he's inside…"

"Danzo? Who is it?"

"Pein…" Danzo moved out of the way for a younger man to appear in the doorway. He smiled and nodded at Shikamaru and Neji once catching sight of the two. "Howdy. What's going on?"

"US Marshals, they're looking for Kimimaro," Danzo explained calmly.

Pein frowned. "Oh, well…Kimimaro's not here right now."

Neji tilted his head to the side curiously. "Well this guy said he was." Neji nodded to Danzo, who blinked his big eyes and smiled, although his hands clenched nervously. "Did I?"

Pein met Danzo's gaze, then turned back to Neji and Shikamaru with a calm smile. "Kimimaro's out taking a walk by the lake…He's not in trouble, is he?"

"No, we just need to talk to him about his wife," Neji said.

"Is there a number he can contact you with when he comes back?"

"No, that's alright," Shikamaru said loudly. "We'll just get back to you."

"Okay."

Pein closed the door, helping old Danzo out of the way. As Neji and Shikamaru walked down the porch steps, Neji muttered "That was a little creepy, right?"

"A little too Stepford," Shikamaru agreed. He shared a look with Neji, who nodded, and the two immediately ducked beneath the windows, and ran, crouched low, around the side of the house.

They climbed onto the back porch, and as they neared the sliding glass door they saw a crack in the curtain. Through it, they peeked in, and witnessed something even creepier.

Tied to a chair was whom Shikamaru recognized immediately from his dream as Kimimaro. His chest was heaving up and down, and he was gagged with a dirty green bandanna. Pein was revealing his rather muscular arm above him, and Danzo was hobbling over, bringing out a kitchen knife.

The knife sunk into Pein's skin, and Pein didn't even flinch. Kimimaro's eyes were huge, he looked shocked and horrified. Innocent.

Shikamaru and Neji immediately turned away and got their guns out of their jackets, loading them.

When they turned back to the window, Neji quickly kicked the sliding glass door in. They ran into the room, saw Pein spreading blood along Kimimaro's shoulder with his bare hand. He and Danzo both looked up in shock, and Shikamaru immediately held up his gun, aiming it at them.

Something that caught him off guard briefly was Danzo flinging his walking stick away, and lunging towards Shikamaru like an animal, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Neji, behind him, pulled the trigger. Three shots rang through the house. Danzo paused, stumbling to a halt, and blood poured from three enormous wounds in his rather large stomach.

He collapsed to the ground; dead. Shikamaru turned and met the gaze of Pein, who glared at him for barely a second, before in a flash he hurdled himself towards the window. The glass broke, and he threw himself out and onto the ground.

Shikamaru ran after him, and aimed out the broken window.

But Pein was running, flying through the hedges, and Shikamaru let him get away.

Neji slowly walked up behind Shikamaru. Shikamaru turned to face him, and Neji stared at him for a couple seconds. "Dude!" he cried at last, his breath heaving with adrenaline. "Why did you let him get away?!"

"I couldn't just shoot him like an animal," Shikamaru snapped, stuffing his gun away.

"After what you just saw?! Shikamaru, he's—"

"—Let's just get this poor guy to a hospital, alright?!" Shikamaru yelled, his patience finally snapping. Glaring at Neji he waited expectantly for some cooperation. Neji just stared back, seeming slightly bewildered, before he glowered and turned to Kimimaro. "Alright, we'll get the girls to calm him down," Neji muttered, slowly walking over and gently trying to untie the man from the chair. Kimimaro was bleeding profusely from his shoulder. His face was pale. A shiny silver rifle that had fallen out of his pocket lay askew on the ground not too far away from him, in a puddle of Danzo's blood.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

As the boys—Neji assisting the bleeding Kimimaro and Shikamaru lugging on his shoulders the dead Danzo's body covered in a black sheet—rounded the house, Temari and TenTen came sprinting into view.

Catching sight of Kimimaro's wound, TenTen pulled her hands to her lips, and Temari paused once she got to them and frowned. "What happened?" she demanded. "We heard shots."

"No idea," Neji said darkly. He sighed. "TenTen, help me out. We need to get these guys to the hospital."

"Oh thank god…" Shikamaru groaned, shifting beneath the dead man on his shoulders as Neji passed on Kimimaro to TenTen, who guided him consolingly down the slope. Neji allowed Shikamaru to dump the dead body on his back, and winced under the weight, stumbling. "Shikamaru, you and Temari drive down to Manistee, it's about a half hour away. See if you can get a phone signal or something. We need to figure out what the hell's going on here."

"Got it." Shikamaru watched as Neji followed TenTen and Kimimaro. "Be careful."

"Uh huh."

Shikamaru turned to Temari. "Alright, let's get going."

She nodded and followed as they went down another side of the slope towards the Impala. "So what happened, seriously?"

"Kimimaro was attacked," Shikamaru said, slipping slightly on the wet grass. "Apparently by people he knows well."

"Were they…possessed?"

"Nope." Shikamaru ran a hand over his chin. "They were…spreading blood on that gash on his shoulder. Their _own_ blood…"

"What?" Temari stared at him. "Why?"

"I dunno…" He glanced at Temari. "You're not getting any weird demon vibes, are you?"

"No, nothing." They stumbled down to a halt at the Impala, and Shikamaru nodded. "Hm…Well, we'll have to see if Manistee has answers."

"I guess so…" Temari paused. "What are you doing?"

Shikamaru had opened the passenger seat door, and now he was crossing around the car. "What?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Why'd you open the door?" she asked, gesturing to it. "You're not even sitting in that seat."

"I opened it for you."

"…Why?"

He stared at her in disbelief, then laughed. "You're fucked up in the head, girl."

"D…Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that!" Temari hurriedly climbed into the car after Shikamaru and slammed the door shut. He was still laughing as he started the car, and, infuriated, Temari slapped his arm harshly.

Chuckling, Shikamaru rubbed his arm and shook his head. "What, has no one opened a door for you before?"

"Well yes, but not you." Temari glared at him as he sped off down the street, turning around and heading towards the highway leading out of the town. "Why would you open the door for me?"

"Because I'm a perfect gentleman."

Temari rolled her eyes and rested her head against the window. "Yeah, and I'm such a lady."

"Oh, you bet. Very graceful."

This time Temari couldn't help but laugh with him, and punched his arm. She sighed and watched as he drove. "Why can't we be awkward like Neji and TenTen? My self esteem would be so much better."

"You have a point." Shikamaru smiled, but his tongue was in his cheek. "Hey, what…have you noticed about Neji and TenTen?"

Temari brushed some hair from her eyes. "…Well, where to begin?" She counted down on her fingers: "They're obsessed with each other. They're embarrassed by each other. They never stop talking about each other…"

"Yeah, but what does that…?" Shikamaru sighed, frustrated. "I mean, he's my brother. Okay?" he said calmly. "And I just…really need to know if he's okay."

"If _he's_ okay…?" Temari stared at Shikamaru in surprise. "What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"You're killing yourself!"

"I'm gonna die anyway," Shikamaru scoffed. "Doesn't make a difference."

"Are you kidding—?!"

"—Please!" Shikamaru interrupted her, suddenly angry. "Please, divulge me in why I should just give up and hunker down and wait for death to come." Temari stared at him, mildly surprised at his sudden anger. "I'm sick of this, Temari." He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. "Just leave me alone."

"…Dude, I—"

"—Just leave me alone," he repeated softly. Temari thinned her lips and said nothing more, but her gaze never left him.

They drove on in silence for a while before they suddenly rounded a bushy corner to see something odd.

At the end of the road was a blockade. Two cars prevented any way out, and three men were standing there. One of them had a long rifle in his hands.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Check this shit out…" he muttered.

"What the hell?" Temari whispered. "What do you think…?"

"I dunno…" Shikamaru's eyes followed one of the three men who started walking over. "Looks like this guy's gonna give us an answer." Shikamaru rolled his window down and the car rumbled to a halt. The man strolled over and leaned down, setting his arm on the window, a little too close for comfort.

"Sorry," he said with a too-kind smile. "Road's closed."

"This is the only road outa this town next to fifteen miles of woods," Shikamaru said suspiciously.

"Mhm." The man nodded. "Quarantine."

"Oh yeah?" Shikamaru glanced at Temari, who shook her head slowly. Shikamaru turned back to the man. "What is it?"

"No clue." The man pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Say, why don't you and the pretty lady there step on outa the car. Hava nice chat."

Shikamaru laughed grimly and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Ah, you _are_ a handsome devil but I don't swing that way."

The man nodded with a creepy smirk and leaned in even further. "I'd sure appreciate it if you got out of your car, mister," he murmured darkly.

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah…I bet you would…"

With no warning he grabbed Temari's arm to steady her and stepped on the pedal. The car roared to life and sped in reverse. The man immediately grabbed onto the window, and dragged himself along with the car, hands trying to grasp Shikamaru's collar.

To make it even worse, the man with the rifle immediately starting firing towards the car. Temari winced, and Shikamaru grit his teeth and slammed an elbow into the face of the man connected to the window. He fell off.

"Go!" Temari yelled, and Shikamaru obeyed, slamming his foot on the pedal and speeding away, barley missing the bullets. As the car rounded the corner, Shikamaru groaned. "It's already starting," he said, trying to keep control of the steering wheel and speeding as fast as he could back towards the hospital.

"It's a massacre," Temari agreed. She held on tight to the edge of the seat. "Judging from what's going on, they're all going to kill themselves."

Shikamaru's hand was still resting on her arm, Temari glanced down at it. He didn't seem to notice.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"…This definitely classifies as creepy," TenTen mumbled.

Neji frowned. "Tell me about it." The two, along with the bleeding Kimimaro, were in the empty hospital. _Completely _empty. No sign of human life whatsoever. No noise besides the humming of air conditioning and light fixtures, and even the light fixtures were flickering occasionally.

"What the hell…?" Kimimaro whispered, voice hoarse. "This is the only hospital in town, it's always busy."

"Yeah, and I don't expect them all to have taken the day off," Neji said darkly. "You said before when we were walking down here that it was odd so many people were missing."

"It is," Kimimaro mumbled. "This is a pretty packed place, there should always be at least one person on the streets…Where did they all go?"

"Maybe the whole town's gone crazy…" TenTen suggested, staring around the vacant, hollow lobby. "Like Danzo and Pein."

"Maybe," Neji said as Kimimaro winced in pain. "But we need to get that wound patched up quick before we do anything else, otherwise too much blood will be lost."

Kimimaro nodded. "I think there are some rooms over there." He pointed down a long dark hallway, and Neji led the way, TenTen helping along Kimimaro.

As they walked, Kimimaro was muttering darkly, "I can't believe what's happening here…I went over to Danzo's to get some comfort from the man and his nephew, but they just…" He sighed and shook his head. "One minute they were my friends. And the next, they had the devil in them…"

Neji shared a look with TenTen.

They walked on. Their footsteps echoed in the hallway. A cold draft lifted goose bumps on TenTen's skin, and she held her arms to herself. "I'm hungry…" she mumbled quietly. Her voice rebounded against the empty walls. She could barely see.

"Is your demon bothering you?" Neji asked without any regard to Kimimaro's questioning stare.

"Uh huh."

"We'll find you something to eat," Neji decided. "There should be a vending machine around here somewhere."

"'Kay…" TenTen let out a small breath and kept walking. She was tired, though.

Kimimaro cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. So she's your subordinate, huh?"

Neji glanced at Kimimaro out of the corner of his eye. "…Why?"

Kimimaro tilted his head to the side. "I dunno, I can just see what's _really_ going on here…"

"What are you talking about?" Neji repeated impatiently.

"Just that I can see she's not your 'subordinate'."

TenTen rolled her eyes. "Well we're not really US Marshals, so yeah. But I'm still his subordinate."

"You're saying he's better than you?" Kimimaro asked with a chuckle.

TenTen nodded seriously. "Yeah."

Neji smiled a bit, but shook his head when Kimimaro glanced at him. Kimimaro raised an eyebrow. "_So_…How long have you two _known_ each other…?"

"_So_…Why are you so _in_terested?" TenTen asked in a mocking voice. Neji's lips twitched upwards again.

"I'm trying to ask," Kimimaro said patiently. "How long have you two been dating? Because you seem a bit young."

TenTen and Neji were both surprised.

"H-Huh?"

"We're not…dating, not even close…"

"Yeah, we're not…"

Kimimaro smirked.

Neji sighed impatiently. "You're annoying," he muttered.

"I didn't ask to get attacked, I think I deserve the right."

"That doesn't make any—"

"Did you hear that…?"

The two men paused and glanced at TenTen. She's stopped walking and was staring behind them down the hall. Kimimaro frowned. "Hear what?"

"Shh…I think I hear it too…" Neji said quietly.

They strained their ears, and distinctly the sound of something scraping along the ground could be heard echoing along the hall.

TenTen backed up slowly, getting nearer to Neji. "What is that…?" she whispered.

"No clue," Neji murmured, glaring around the hall. "Kimimaro, go into a room off the side."

"Eh? But what—"

"We need you to be safe, alright?" Neji said under his breath. "Go lock yourself in that room there." He gently pushed Kimimaro towards the side of the hallway. The man obeyed, closing the door behind him, and TenTen turned to Neji.

"What are we gonna do?" she asked softly.

"Just stay near me and be quiet. We're gonna try to find whatever it is before it finds us," Neji said darkly. He took his gun out from his jacket, and TenTen did the same, backing up and standing directly next to Neji, controlling her breathing.

They stood still, staring down the hall to the darkest end of it, listening. The sound of scraping was getting louder. Neji frowned and took a step forward. TenTen bit her lip, ready to move. "Wait a second…" he murmured.

"What—?"

TenTen never finished her question. The lights flickered behind her, and she whipped around when she heard footsteps.

A man was walking down the hallway. His shadow fluttered with the light fixtures, and he was dragging in his hand a large axe, the blade of which was trailing on the ground, scraping and leaving behind a thin trail of blood, mixed in with his shadow.

In a flash he leapt towards TenTen, who shrieked and ducked. Immediately Neji jumped forward and grabbed the handle of the axe, which the man was trying to swing down on TenTen. TenTen hurried out of the way as Neji, with a grunt, flung the man backwards, and ran forwards, grabbing the handle of the axe again and kicking the man in the shins.

The man growled in pain, and with an insane scream he swung the axe down. Neji barely dodged it, and as he was recovering the man tried swinging the axe to the side again.

Neji's eyes widened, and he prepared himself for the worst as he saw the glinting blade of the bloody axe whistling through the air towards his stomach faster than he could react.

But without warning, it stopped, and clattered to the floor. The screaming man choked to a halt, and stared down at himself.

The tip of a knife was peeking out from his stomach. TenTen was standing behind him, and she thrust the knife in deeper. The man gasped, blood poured out from between his lips, and he collapsed to the ground.

TenTen stumbled backwards, holding her hands to her mouth and staring down at the body, and Neji let out a long, deep breath and hurried forwards. "You okay?" he demanded. She nodded, eyes huge and staring the body. Neji smiled at her though, and touched her shoulder gently to get her attention. His smile widened as she turned to look up at him, and he felt the ponderous electricity flowing from her skin to his finger tips and all through his body. "Thanks…" he murmured.

She smiled back up at him nervously.

"Ah. So I was correct."

They jumped and parted from each other immediately as Kimimaro came into view with a small devious smile on his face, holding his shoulder.

"…Shuddup…"

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"Then what else…?" Temari muttered.

Shikamaru closed his eyes briefly, trying to be patient. They were almost to the hospital. Shikamaru had slowed down his driving by now, and they were trying to figure out what it could be that was making the entire town this freaky. "Maybe…Shit, I don't know. These people are fucked up…"

"Not people anymore," Temari corrected him, playing with her hair. "Animals. People aren't like that."

"Well they sure as hell knew what they were doing," Shikamaru pointed out.

"True." Temari shuddered visibly. "And they were creepy as all hell…"

"Definitely…" Shikamaru drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I wonder if—"

"—Watch out!" Temari suddenly cried, and Shikamaru swore and slammed on the brakes as someone jumped out of the bushes and stood in the middle of the street directly in front of the car's path.

It was Shino. He was holding out a rifle, and he roared, "Get out of the car!" as he held it up, cocked and ready.

"Shit…" Shikamaru growled. Temari glanced at him as he slipped his pistol discreetly into his jacket. "Shikamaru, I don't think he's—" she started, but Shikamaru shushed her quickly and opened the door.

"Get out, get out!" Shino ordered again.

"Alright, easy, easy…" Shikamaru said loudly as he slowly ducked out of the car. As soon as he was in full view he whipped out the pistol and aimed it at Shino.

"Put it down!"

"You first!"

"Are you one of them?!"

"No, are you?!"

"No!"

"You could be lying!"

"So could you!"

"Hey, _hey_!" Temari yelled, running out of the car and skidding between them, holding up her hands. "Stop this, it's obvious neither of you—What the hell are youdoing?!" Her mouth dropped open, appalled, as the two quickly aimed their guns at her.

Shikamaru shrugged as she gaped at him. "He was doin' it," he said, nodding to Shino.

"My god, you're both so stupid!" Temari shouted.

Shino shook his head. "What the hell is goin' on here…? My neighbor…Lady Konan…"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but neither of them lowered their guns from each other. "You live next to a '_Lady_'?"

"Yeah, not anymore." Shino shook his head. "She came at me with a machine gun…So I took her down."

"What the hell is it with everyone and guns here?" Shikamaru demanded.

"The whole town's allowed guns," Shino explained. "A man's considered stupid not to have one…"

"Well that's a mistake…"

"You're tellin' me." Shino frowned. "And here I am talkin' to you so easy…How do I know you're not gonna plug me _any second_?!"

"You don't! And neither do I!"

"I should get you before you get me!"

"I should do the same!"

"_Both of you_ _get in the car_!" Temari ordered. She stomped over to the Impala and slid into the center in the front. Shikamaru and Shino, not looking away from each other, followed, and got inside, slamming the doors with difficulty.

Shikamaru started the car, and kept his other hand holding gun across Temari towards Shino. Shino kept his rifle aimed steadily at Shikamaru's head, avoiding Temari's.

Temari slid a hand over her eyes, muttering exasperatedly, "This should be a pleasant drive…"

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Whoa…"

Neji glanced over at TenTen. They and Kimimaro were in a small hospital room. While Neji bandaged Kimimaro's arm, TenTen had decided to take a blood sample from the man who'd attacked them with an axe, to see if the reason behind the blood to blood contact had any significance. She was sitting on a stool now, gazing through the microscope.

"What do you see?" Neji asked. Kimimaro looked up as well.

TenTen turned around on the stool thoughtfully. "Well, I'm not a biologist, but I am an honor's student, so I know what I'm talking about…" She nodded to the microscope. "The blood's enzyme count is enormous…The body was fighting off a virus."

"What kind of virus?"

"Well, that's the weird part." TenTen turned around again and squinted into the microscope. "…There are yellow particles in the blood…It almost looks like…"

"Sulfur?" Neji finished for her. TenTen turned around and nodded. "Signs of a demon…" Neji said slowly. "That means…"

"A demonic virus," TenTen suggested. "Or more like demonic germ warfare…"

"…Demonic?" Kimimaro spoke up. He laughed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You saw the look in your friends' eyes when they attacked you," Neji said. Kimimaro looked down at his knees. "That wasn't human," Neji continued. "That was insane. Whatever's going around in their blood, it's turning them into something…sick. Something evil."

"Well…" Kimimaro looked up. "Is there a cure for this?"

TenTen shook her head. "I already said; I'm not a biologist."

They all jumped when they heard something outside, and Neji quickly slipped to the door, and sighed in relief. "Shikamaru…"

Shikamaru and Temari strode into the room, and in after them came Shino. Shikamaru turned around to look at Neji. "They've blocked off the roads," he said. "They won't let anyone leave."

"Not only that, but they've all gone crazy," Shino said, looking around at all of them. He spotted Kimimaro. "Ah, good to see you. Good to see you sane. You alright?"

Kimimaro sighed and nodded. "Getting there."

Neji walked over to the door and locked it. "Well for now, we're gonna stay safe and figure out what the hell's going on," he said. He turned to face the room as a whole. "No one has signals, still?"

Shikamaru shook his head. Lines are dead, basically everything is dead. There's no way in or out of this town without running the risk that we all get jumped by those freaks." He paused and glanced over to the window. "Temari? What do you have?"

She was bending over, peering through the shades. She straightened up and grimaced. "There's a bunch of people just…standing out there…" she said uncertainly. "They're staring at us…They're not even doing anything, they're just…standing and staring…"

TenTen threaded her fingers together. "Creepy…" she complained. "But at least they're gathered together."

"You're right…" Shikamaru said. "This'll make it easier to escape; they won't come out of nowhere and we'll be expecting them."

"Then what do we do?" Shino asked. "We gonna go search 'em out, or we gonna sit here and wait for the worst to come to us?"

Shikamaru twisted his lips. "I've never been the type to do the latter."

"Amen," Kimimaro said. "So what do we have? What kind of weapons?"

"No, wait, wait…" Temari said, holding her hands up. "Speaking of weapons…We can't do this. It's suicide if we go out there with only what we have. We're up against _how many_ rifles? We only have a couple guns on us, right. We don't stand a chance if we don't go out there with explosives."

TenTen's eyes widened. "Explosives? Wait a minute!" She jumped to her feet and pointed excitedly at a large shelf in the corner. "We can _make _explosives!" She turned to Shikamaru eagerly. "You know how to, right?!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Hold on…" He walked over to the shelf and reached to the top, bringing down one of the bottles. "…You know, you've got a point…" he said, staring at the label in interest. "This is pretty strong alcohol."

"If we can get the acids mixed the right way, we can make our own explosives!" TenTen summed up happily. "This could work!" She clapped her hands and giggled. Shino behind her was staring at her rear end as she bent over a bit cutely. "…How old are you again…?" he asked distractedly.

Seeing where his gaze was, TenTen simply lifted a foot, allowing herself to kick him in the crotch. As he bent over coughing, Kimimaro behind him mimed zipping his mouth shut.

Neji laughed. Looked like he didn't need to interfere that time.

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

"Then you put…this in…?" Neji mumbled distractedly.

TenTen's eyes were wide with awe as she bent over the other side of the table they were sharing. Everyone in the room was busy making the explosives, as Shikamaru and TenTen instructed them how to do so with what Temari called chemistry-professor-like abilities. And already, Neji had the entire process committed to memory.

"You are _so smart_!" TenTen cried happily as he looked up at her for confirmation. "It took me _days_ to learn how to do this back at school!" Neji blinked in surprise as she clasped her hands together excitedly. "See? I _knew_ you were a genius!" she said, poking his arm.

He stared at her and smiled, and TenTen's heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. It was so rare…and it made him look so…

"Dude, Neji. You could have been _teaching_ at Harvard," Shikamaru called across the room with a grin.

Neji, eyes glittering with pride, continued to form the bombs, shrugging. "I'm just doing what you told me to do," he said simply, but TenTen could see the smile still tugging at his lips, and it made her feel great to know that he was getting such a thrill out of all the compliments.

So far, a couple bombs had already been made. Everyone was catching on quick enough, pouring the liquids into the right containers, setting up the explosives correctly. TenTen predicted, as she continued with her own, that with enough of these, they could get in the Impala and drive away with barely a scratch. They were doing well.

But then again, she realized as she flicked a drop of acid off of the tip of her finger; they had already forgotten what they came to the town for in the first place. They weren't trying to get away. They were trying to stop whatever was happening. And it wasn't like they _couldn't_ do it. They just…didn't know how…

Did that necessarily mean they had to run away…?

She looked up and frowned about this. Finally, deciding there was no use in holding onto it any longer, she said aloud, "Neji…"

But before she could finish her sentence, they all jumped at a loud bang, and a sudden fit of screaming.

TenTen, who was closest to the door, whipped around and stared at a girl with long, dark hair. She was hiding her face in her jacket, and pounding at the door, shrieking and sobbing. TenTen frowned and hurried over to the door.

"Wait!" TenTen paused and turned around. Temari was staring at her, and TenTen could see a look in her eyes she didn't notice before. It wasn't fear. But it was something else. "I…" Temari bit her lip. "I don't think you should let her in…"

Neji tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

Temari shook her head. "I just don't…think you should…What if she has the virus?"

"She's terrified, Temari," TenTen said discouragingly. "We might as well let her in. Besides, we have guns, and she's outnumbered."

Temari said nothing, but Shikamaru, next to her, nodded, telling TenTen to go ahead. She did so, opening the door. "Hey, it's okay…" TenTen said hesitantly as the girl nearly fell as she stumbled inside, still hiding her face.

She was a hysterical wreck. TenTen thought she could hear Shino say, "Is that Kin…?" aloud. "Kin, is that your name?" TenTen asked comfortingly, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder; it was covered in blood.

"No…No…No…" Kin breathed out, paying no mind to the question. "No, no, no…" She could barely control herself. Her gasps came in uneven, dangerous quantities.

"It's okay, it's okay," TenTen said with a reluctant smile. "We can help you, alright?" She paused as Kin moved her face up. TenTen reached over to her. "Let me see if you're hurt…" she said.

Temari suddenly said, "TenTen, don't—" but it was too late.

TenTen's breath caught in her throat when Kin's face was revealed to them.

Because there was no face.

All TenTen could see was a mass of gooey flesh and blood, dripping from torn muscle. Kin's teeth leered out at her and her eyes, just lumps of puss and bone, flipped backwards and forwards in an agonizing speed. Threads of skin dangled from her inexistent cheeks, saliva poured from her missing lips…

TenTen's stomach turned, and she screamed loudly and stumbled backwards. She felt Neji's hands grabbing her and pulling her even farther backwards, not letting her get even a centimeter away from his body protectively. "What the fuck…?" Shikamaru whispered. Temari had by now averted her eyes and taken a step closer to Shikamaru.

"Oh my _god_!" Kimimaro yelped as Shino stumbled backwards and stuttered, "What the fuck is wrong with you?! What the hell is going on?!"

"They took my face!" Kin screamed at the top of her lungs. When her mouth moved fluids flew from her. "They took my face! I'm going to kill you all…I'm going to kill you all…"

Something suddenly slid over TenTen's eyes; Neji's hand. Her vision was darkened, and she knew why; she hid her face in his arm, but the loud bang of a gunshot could still distinctly be heard.

muirbiliuqe

A loud scream broke Shikamaru out of his distractions. Yet again, his heart rate increased, and this time it was worse because it was Temari.

They'd already rolled Kin up in a sheet and tossed her on the hospital bed in the room. They all got in pairs after that to carefully and discreetly search the other rooms in the hallway for more chemicals for the explosives. So far, it was going well. They were almost done with the process. But they were all on edge, especially after the scene with Kin. It seemed that the virus made people a little more twisted than it had originally been estimated. Temari even suggested the well-supported idea that the virus was already _in_ Kin's body, but someone else with a virus had been a little stronger than her.

And speaking of Temari, Shikamaru was inwardly punching himself for leaving her alone. They were supposed to be in a pair, but they'd decided that they could go ahead and take their own rooms so it would go faster. Unfortunately, as Shikamaru ran down the hallway, that didn't seem to be such a good idea.

He swung into Temari's room, and his worries were soothed as soon as he saw Neji and TenTen with her, and saw that she was fine. "What happened?" he asked, walking over cautiously.

Temari sighed and pointed to something on the ground. "I opened up the supply cabinet in here, and this guy surprised me…" she muttered.

There on the ground was who Shikamaru could recognize immediately as Pein. He was dead, and Shikamaru could see a knife sticking out of his gut.

"Eck…" Shikamaru said, raising an eyebrow. "That one guy that attacked you two must have gotten Pein as well…" He nodded to Neji and TenTen.

But TenTen seemed skeptical, fingers curled to her lips. "Yeah, but it's weird; Why would that guy use a knife on Pein? He had an axe."

"Maybe Pein had an axe, and the guy stole it from his body?" Temari suggested.

Neji shook his head. "Pein didn't have an axe the first time Shikamaru and I ran into him…" he said slowly.

"Wait a minute…" TenTen whispered. She turned to Neji. "Isn't this the room we left Kimimaro alone in…?"

Neji's eyes widened, and he immediately turned to Shikamaru and Temari. "Where's Shino?"

"He's with Kimimaro…" Temari said slowly.

"…Shit…" TenTen gasped, and immediately Neji turned and ran out of the room.

"Wait, what…?" Shikamaru began as they all started following him. TenTen turned over her shoulder to explain: "We left Kimimaro in here alone while we were getting attacked. And remember, Pein was spreading his blood onto Kimimaro's shoulder…!"

Shikamaru's mouth fell open. "Kimimaro has the virus?!" They all sped up, and finally rounded the corner to slam into Shino and Kimimaro's assigned room.

Neji whipped out his gun and pointed it into the room. As Shikamaru peered in over his shoulder, he could see Shino tied to a chair, covered in blood, Kimimaro holding his open wound over him, a small dagger in his hand. Both men looked up, and Neji said slowly, "Kimimaro, drop the knife."

Kimimaro did so. Quite shockingly. Neji raised an eyebrow, but suddenly Kimimaro let out an unearthly scream, and leapt for Neji. Neji pulled the trigger twice, and Kimimaro dropped to the ground in a pool of blood.

Temari quickly slipped past Neji and ran over to Shino. She untied him and took the gag away from his mouth. Shino coughed and groaned, rubbing his chest. Neji's eyes spotted this, and he said, "Temari, get away from him!"

Temari looked up as she assisted Shino to his feet. "What?"

"He got Kimimaro's blood on him," Neji said darkly, staring at Shino.

"He has the virus."

There was a long silence that rang throughout the room. Shikamaru stared at Shino as he pulled down his shirt and saw the blood covering his open wound. Shikamaru wondered suddenly what the man was feeling. What he was realizing.

Did he know that he was going to have to die? Did he know how Shikamaru felt?

There was a necklace around Kimimaro's neck that swung and hit the bloody ground, and made a resounding noise against the peach-colored wallpaper, echoing in Shikamaru's bones. It was a familiar sound.

_Ding, ding, ding…_

21

_**a/n:**_ Just to let you guys know, this story is only Rated M because of the major gore, exemplified in this chapter. _Sex scenes are not going to be described_; extreme innuendo is the most you're going to get, and it will be funny. And just to let you know, the major character death I mentioned earlier is coming in two chapters. Don't even _try_ to guess who it will be. You _will_ be wrong. :)

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	22. Instinct

equilibrium

22

_No one knows what it's like_  
_To be the bad man_  
_To be the sad man_  
_Behind blue eyes_

Shikamaru and Shino were the only ones not talking.

"We can't just shoot him down right now," TenTen said earnestly to Neji. "There could still be another way—"

"—What other way?" Temari interrupted her. "What if it's too late?"

"So what, we just kill him?" TenTen shook her head. "We can wait, we can tie him down and figure this out."

Neji sighed. "TenTen, I know you think that is what the humane thing to do is in this situation, but believe me when I say that it isn't. The longer we wait, then most likely the stronger he'll get."

"I just…I can't think of shooting him…Neji, he's right there, he doesn't _look_ dangerous, does he? Maybe he doesn't have the virus."

Temari frowned. "I guess you have a point…Maybe we could just tie him down, and look as hard as we can for a cure. Maybe we can stop it."

Neji scratched his cheek. "I don't know how easy that would—"

"—Listen…" They all stopped when Shino suddenly spoke up. Shikamaru looked over at him. He was leaning against the table, hand to his bloody chest. His eyes were shadowed, and his face was pale and drawn. "Listen…" he said again. "It's obvious what I need to do…"

Neji blinked. "You're not—"

"—I'm not going to make it," Shino interrupted him. He sighed. "You guys have enough explosives for the lot of you. You can get out of this town, and get help. Me, I…I can go first."

"What do you mean 'go first'?" TenTen asked.

"I'll go out there with a gun."

"No," Temari shook her head. "No! That's suicide! We shouldn't have left you alone to begin with."

"There's no other way," Shino said loudly. "If I'm going to turn into one of those…_things_ I want to at least kill a few of the other ones to start with."

"Shino, you don't have to do this," Neji said seriously. "You don't stand a chance out there."

"Maybe he does." Everyone turned to Shikamaru, who nodded to Shino. "If he gets enough gun powder and bullets, maybe he can hold them all off." Shino watched him. Shikamaru nodded. "Maybe if he makes himself the distraction, we could get out, get in the car, then swing by and pick Shino up, and put this place in our rearview mirror."

"Easier said than done," Temari muttered.

"Exactly," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "And it would be easier if we had our cell phones working."

Neji suddenly smirked. "Luckily," he said, suddenly whipping two black objects out of his jacket pocket and holding them up. They glinted in the light from the fixtures. ", I always come prepared."

TenTen giggled in excitement.

1e2q3u4i5l6i7b8r9i0u1m2

"Can you hear me?" Shikamaru asked. He was speaking into one walkie-talkie, which hissed weakly before Shino's voice could be heard: _"Yeah."_

Shino was outside the hospital now. The others were waiting just inside of the doors, peering out of the glass. Shino could be seen with his large rifle walking through the dark. The sun was getting lower, the sky getting dimmer. His shadow seemed to grow longer with every step.

The explosives were ready. Neji had them slung over his shoulder in a bag. They could see some of the virus victims standing outside. Gazing with glassy eyes at Shino, who came to a halt slowly in front of the walkway towards the hospital.

"Guess it's time, then," Temari said suddenly.

Shikamaru nodded and said into the speaker, "Shades going down."

TenTen and Temari got to work, pulling the shades of all the windows in the glass lobby down, and closing all the slits. As the room gradually got darker, Shikamaru took a seat on one of the benches, watching as Neji drummed his fingers against the desk, examining one of the explosives. He was nervous. Shikamaru could tell.

Finally TenTen pulled down the last of the shades. The light flooded through the slits she allowed to keep open, and cast flickering pools of gold across their faces. Shikamaru held the walkie-talkie to his ear. "Okay, Shino, I guess it's time for you to do your thing," he said, forcing himself to keep his voice steady. "If you need anything at all, say my name. If you wanna come back, just knock on the door."

_"Got it."_ Shikamaru could hear the strain in Shino's voice. He wondered if he himself ever sounded like that. Seeing death inches away. Feeling the darkness closing in around him…

"…You're a good man," Shikamaru said quietly. He could feel everyone's eyes on him.

Shino's line on the walkie-talkie was silent for a while, before he cleared his throat. _"Just doin' my job."_

The hissing of the other end stopped; the other walkie-talkie had been turned off. Shikamaru turned his off as well, and they waited.

For the longest three seconds of his life, Shikamaru clenched the walkie-talkie tightly. Temari sat TenTen down on another bench and perched next to her. Neji's fingers curled over the edge of the counter tightly.

And finally, they heard the gunshots.

It was like a thunderstorm. Shikamaru gazed at the wall to control himself as the sound trickled through the windows. Pops and bangs and shouts and cries of pain slammed his ear drums. He closed his eyes.

_"This is what hell is like_."

His eyes snapped back open, wide and narrowed and shocked. He stared around himself. No one was there. But he could recognize that voice anywhere.

'_Hidan…_' He grit his teeth and slid a hand over his knee, angrily keeping himself calm.

"Shikamaru. You okay?"

'_Stay out of my head…_'

"…Shikamaru?"

He looked up at Temari. She had stood up in concern, glaring. Neji and TenTen stared at him. Shikamaru shook his head. "Thinking…" he muttered distractedly.

Temari nodded cautiously and slowly sat back down. TenTen suddenly held up a hand. "Hey…" she said softly. Shikamaru watched as she stood. "Do you hear that?" She was staring at the doors. "The shots have stopped…"

Neji narrowed his eyes and stepped forwards. "Open the shades," he said, nodding to the door. Temari, who was closest to the door, obeyed and pulled up the shades to the door he'd indicated, letting the sunlight flood in. She stood next to the door, staring at it. "…Weird…" she said, captivated. "There's…no one there…"

Neji shook his head, lacking acquiescence. "It's way too soon for it to stop."

"I agree, yeah. But this is…" Temari moved out of the way for the rest to see; the courtyard in front of the hospital, which had before been crawling with virus victims, was now completely abscond.

"What the hell?" Shikamaru muttered. "How the hell could they all clear out so fast?"

"They're speedy, I guess," TenTen said with a shrug. "Kind of abnormally, too. They're, like…mutants." She put her hands on her hips. "But where's Shino?"

The question was accompanied by a short silence, 'till Shikamaru turned on the walkie-talkie, saying, "We might as well find out." He pressed the button and said, "Hey, Shino?"

Immediately a loud hissing sound came from the walkie-talkie. The other three in the room stared at it in surprise with Shikamaru as the hissing continued. Along with it came a deformed sound. A sort of panting and dripping noise.

"…Shino…?" Shikamaru repeated. "Are you—"

_"—Shikamaru?"_

Shikamaru paused and glanced up at the other three. Looking back down he said, "Yeah…This is you, Shino, right?"

_"…Yes…"_

His voice came out slightly muffled, and hoarse. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "How are you doing?"

_"Shikamaru?"_

Temari's hands clenched together, she leaned against the door and watched Shikamaru closely. Shikamaru coughed. "Uh, yeah. It's me."

_"Where…Um, where am I?"_

Shikamaru blinked and looked up at Neji. He was bewildered, TenTen scratched her cheek. Shikamaru gave a small vexed laugh. "Uh…How should I know?"

"_Where am I?"_

"I don't _know_, Shino."

_"Where am I?"_

Shikamaru stopped talking, staring at the walkie-talkie. "…What's goin' on with you, man?" he asked carefully. "Are you alright?"

_"Sh…Shikamaru…?"_

"…Yeah…?"

_"Where am I? I can't see."_

Shikamaru shook his head in confusion. This was too abstruse for his tastes. He looked up at Neji, giving him a questioning gesticulation. Neji shrugged, looking a little on-edge.

_"Shikamaru?"_

Temari suddenly gasped. "Hey!" They all looked over, to see the back of Shino's head as he stumbled back against the door.

_"Shikamaru? Where am I? Where am I?"_

"Shino…you're…" Shikamaru shook his head, staring at the man's back. His shoulder was torn, and stained with red. "What the hell happened to you?"

_"Shikamaru, is that you?"_

"Don't let him in." Neji suddenly said, speaking to TenTen who had moved near the door. TenTen stared at Neji, then turned back to the door. "What are we supposed to do…?" she whispered, sitting back down on the bench. "He might not…"

"He has it," Temari said softly from her place near the door. She was purposefully averting her eyes. "He's infected, I'm sure of it."

"How would you know?"

"TenTen, it's obvious, he's bleeding and—"

"—That doesn't mean _anything_!" TenTen yelled impatiently. Shikamaru gazed at her as she stood up once more. "We don't have to kill him, not yet! We can still _do_ something! Are we really that weak, that we have to sit down and let this go?!"

"We can't do _anything_, TenTen, this is out of our hands!" Temari retorted loudly. "If you think we can save this guy, then go ahead and suggest something, but obviously you have no idea what you're talking about. So shut the—"

"—Don't tell me what to do!" TenTen grit her teeth, furious. Her cheeks were red. "Stop treating me like a kid!"

"Oh, so Neji can and I can't?!"

This time, TenTen didn't react. She paused, staring at Temari with large eyes and a strict frown on her face. Neji was glancing between them. Temari sighed, seeing she'd hit a limit, but said nothing more.

"The girl's right, you know."

Everyone in the room whipped around, and Shikamaru jumped to his feet as he immediately recognized with a sickening feeling the owner of the voice.

A young pink-haired woman, her green eyes glinting in the small amount of light that was allowed through the room, stood in the shadows of the far wall. Her pale lips were curved into a leering smile. Her eyelids were pulled back, so her gaze was enormous; paranoid and insane. With a low, rocky voice she said, "You should have saved yourselves while you had the chance."

Before anyone could do anything, Shikamaru's vision was blurred, and a second later he was slammed against a wall. He groaned with the other four, feeling his back bruise violently, and looked up at the twiggy young woman, who gave a high-pitched, unsettling cough

"Shikamaru, it's so good to finally see you face to face," she said hoarsely, walking forwards and grinning creepily at the group. "I'm so sorry about all the trouble my science project might have caused for you, but I needed to get you and your friends here _some_how."

Shikamaru glared at her, and the woman smiled. "You may remember me from your scary dream the other day," she said sweetly. "My name's Sakura. I shot a bullet through that citrusy whore's large intestine."

"You also created the virus, didn't you?" TenTen demanded as Shikamaru tried his hardest to pry himself off the wall, but failed (as did the others). "You killed _all_ those people?" Sakura stared at TenTen, but her smiling lips and glinting eyes affirmed the answer. TenTen grit her teeth. "You bitch."

Sakura heaved a breathy sigh and took a couple more staggering steps forward. "TenTen…" She shook her head, pink hair waving. "You're exactly what I expected."

TenTen blinked. Shikamaru stared at Sakura and said, "How do you know_ her _name…?" He could feel Neji's eyes glued on him.

"Oh, never you mind," Sakura said, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "Either way, Shino's been a good boy. For now, I suppose it's time to relieve him of his duties."

"…Wait…" Neji said suddenly, seeing Sakura turn her back on them. Her shoulders shook a little as she suddenly whipped a knife out of the back of her jeans. With a sharp jerk, she sliced the blade across her skinny arm. Immediately blood poured out like water from a cracked dam. It rolled over her skin and splashed to the floor as through her paper lips came an evil voice, gasping some sort of Latin.

Shikamaru knew these words. They were familiar to him; it was a spell. "What the fuck would a demon need a spell for?" he snarled.

Sakura finished up her spell and turned around with a chuckle. "Shikamaru, I thought you were smarter than that." She stared directly at him. "I'm no demon. I'm a witch."

"Shino…" Temari suddenly whispered in agony.

Shikamaru allowed himself to look for only a second, then he had to look away. Because this was even worse than what they'd seen before.

Sakura's spell had been cast over the man, before it was too late; he was now being disintegrated, his body casting away into piles of beetles. They flew, they crawled, they fell, and there was nothing left to see but black and legs and shells, and Shikamaru had closed his eyes by this point, listening to Neji's sharp inhale and the sound of the crawly things tapping against the window.

He heard the zipping sound of the blinds on the door being closed, and he looked up. Sakura let the string swing back, and what was odd was that it hit the door over and over again, more than there was momentum for. The metal end of the string made a _dinging_ sound every time it hit the glass of the window.

"A demonic force field." Neji said what Shikamaru was thinking, noticing this as well. "But if you're not a demon…"

TenTen groaned "I knew it!"

"Knew _what_?" Temari asked impatiently.

"It's true she's not a demon, but there is a demon in this room," TenTen said sternly. "Neji, Shikamaru, remember what you guys told me about witches, back when we thought Temari was one? You said that they get their power from a demon…"

"Yeah, so…?"

"_Tsunade's_ the demon that Sakura's getting power from!"

Temari gasped. "So Tsunade's got control over that girl?"

Sakura laughed harshly. "Idiot, it's the other way around! _I've_ got control over Tsunade!"

"Some fucked up witch you are," Neji muttered. "You've got to be seriously twisted in the head."

"Me, twisted in the head?!" Sakura turned to Neji and threw her knife to the side with a clang. "If I'm twisted in the head to accept all the power, all the money that I'm being paid to do this…"

"You've been paid?" TenTen asked, then she paused. "…To do what?"

Sakura grinned. "You'll see. So why don't you tell me who's twisted in the head, now!"

"Definitely you."

Sakura whipped around in shock, to see Temari standing up, away from the wall; she had freed herself. Her eyes were black, and Shikamaru could feel static rippling in the air from her body. In her right hand, was Sakura's knife. Temari was in her demon form.

Sakura's eyes were wide, but excited, and she ran at Temari, but Temari was fast. In a flash Sakura was being slammed against the wall by the blonde, who was trying her hardest to slice the pink girl's throat with the knife. A hand from each woman clenched the handle of the knife, Sakura trying to keep it away from her throat, Temari trying to push it into her throat.

"All those people that died…" Temari said darkly, her voice suddenly much angrier than the usual low waterfall of a melody Shikamaru was used to. "Did you kill them just to feed Tsunade and give yourself more power?"

"Not only that," Sakura panted, quivering. "_Money_. And this town was perfect. These people were already set to kill themselves, they were chock full of guns and bullets…All bought over the counter!"

"Great, so you took advantage of a few old-town hicks," Temari growled. "I might as well get back at you for them."

"You can't kill me, demon bitch."

"Hm." Temari's lips curved into a smirk. "I guess we all have our surprises."

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"I'm not a demon either." Temari pulled her hand down to try and slam a fist into Sakura's mousy face. But she wasn't the only fast one.

Sakura ducked at the last minute, and dodged the attack from the knife. She kicked Temari in the stomach, hard, sending her stumbling back and nearly falling. Temari ran at Sakura and punched her in the face; once, twice, three times before she realized she'd made a mistake. Sakura grabbed the knife from Temari's hand, and pushed her away.

Temari stood at the ready, but Sakura was quick, and maniacal. With a whooping, silver laugh she lunged forwards, and swiped the knife towards Temari's stomach. Temari jumped back, avoiding the blow, but in order to avoid it she put herself at even greater risk.

Stumbling, she was unable to protect herself. Sakura's knife came down towards her in a dangerous arc.

But it was then that Sakura stumbled, and it was then that her hands slipped. The knife flew out of her fingers clumsily, soaring away to lodge itself harmlessly into the door on the other side of the room.

Everyone stared at TenTen, who was grinning. Shikamaru felt a heavy weight pull off of him, and he was dropped from the wall, catching himself on his feet like the other two. He gazed at TenTen as she said, "There _is _a demon in this room. There are more than one."

Out of the air, finally, her demon rippled. Shikamaru felt his lips curl in a relieved smirk as the demon of bad luck rushed towards Sakura, who screamed loudly as it enveloped her. Electricity and static energy tickled his skin, and he clenched his jeans tightly as he watched the smoke swirl around the air, and then as if in an instant of realization, disappear.

The smoke left Sakura, lying on the ground unconscious, and a shadowy form, which quickly dissipated within seconds.

After staring at the scene for a while, Neji smiled and turned to TenTen. "I can't believe you did it, but you did."

TenTen beamed with pride as Temari groaned and walked over, wiping blood from the corner of her lips and holding onto her stomach with her free hand. "You couldn't have done it sooner?" she muttered. Shikamaru glanced at her; her eyes were blue again, and she looked at him briefly before turning to TenTen.

TenTen rolled her eyes and smiled at Neji. "I've had it down for a while!" she said, and she continued to chat happily as Shikamaru stared at the floor, trying to concentrate. So far Danzo was dead, Pein was dead, Kimimaro was dead, and Shino was dead. No one that had accompanied them had survived. And just killing Sakura might not have done anything.

He turned to look at Sakura as he realized this, and that's when his eyes widened.

Sakura wasn't dead. Not yet. In her weak, deformed last minutes of life, Sakura had managed to pick up the gun that Shikamaru had been holding before, and was aiming it at Neji.

"Hey!" Shikamaru yelled, but he wasn't quick enough in getting out his gun.

However, TenTen was. With a shriek she lunged forwards to push Neji away.

Shikamaru's mind clicked into place in slow motion. As blood splattered the floor and Neji stumbled to a halt, as TenTen collapsed to the ground, it was as if he'd seen it before.

Or maybe that he knew it was coming.

"_TENTEN_!" Temari screamed, and her voice shook Shikamaru out of his trance. He whipped around and shot at Sakura, gritting his teeth. This time, he didn't look away. He pulled the trigger, three times in a row, watching the blood explode from her papery body, watching her eyes roll into her head, her limbs twitch and freeze, her breath catch in her throat and die away with her. And then he shot her one more time. Just because.

Because it didn't have to be today. It didn't have to be this. Not now. Not her.

_equilibrium_ xxxx

"Okay, okay, okay…" Neji mumbled. He was worried, and he knew it, and he knew that Temari and Shikamaru knew it, and he knew that when TenTen's eyes slowly flickered open she knew it as well, as he gathered her to him. She coughed, and dark blood trickled from the corner of her lips. Her hands clenched Neji's shirt in pain as she hissed out a long breath, and Neji forced himself to stay calm. "TenTen…Come on, look at me…"

She obeyed. Because she always obeyed. He bit his tongue. "You're gonna be okay," he said insistently. Trying not to make it too obvious he was only trying to convince himself.

She smiled, though, and Neji's heart skipped a beat. "It hurts…"

"I know, I know…" Neji mumbled, holding her tightly. "It's okay…You're gonna be alright…" His eyes traveled down to her hand wrapped around her stomach, and, listening to her breathing sharpen, he slowly pulled her hand away to see blood oozing out of a rather large wound. The bullet was hidden deep in her flesh, and it was obvious an organ was destroyed.

It was officially a fatal wound.

He closed his eyes to calm himself. They were in a hospital. They could still help her.

"TenTen…" He sighed, and opened his eyes. She was watching him, a pained expression stretched her features. Her eyes were dim, and glassy. He exhaled loudly. "Why would you do that…?" he whispered.

Surprisingly, she smiled fully, and for a second it looked to Neji like she would live forever. "I already told you…" she murmured sweetly. Her fingers curled even tighter around him. "I'd do anything for you."

He was lost. Completely hopeless. Neji gazed into her eyes, his vision taking in her smile, her skin, her hair, her beauty, everything about her, the way her lips moved with her hollow breaths, the blood on her chin, everything was so perfect to him.

Unable to hold himself back, he pressed his lips to the bridge of her nose, and heard her sigh happily. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled her up to hold her face in the crook of his neck. He couldn't get enough of her.

"Nn…" She suddenly let out a little noise of pain, and a new wave of blood could be felt pouring out of her.

"Shh …" Neji opened his eyes again and looked over to Temari and Shikamaru. Temari's eyes were watering, and he knew she was going to break down any second. "Temari…" he said, surprised to find his voice slightly hoarse. He coughed. "You can…" He shook his head and stared at her desperately. "Temari, you can do something, right?"

Temari's lips parted. Neji nodded furiously. "Come on! Please, help her, come _on_!"

"I can't—"

"Do some of your demon shit, hurry!" Neji insisted. He knew this wasn't the place to demand something like that of her, but he could feel TenTen's blood pouring from her stomach.

Temari shook her head, a small tear trickled down her cheek. "I…I don't…"

"Temari, can you help?" Shikamaru asked calmly, watching her with a stern expression. She stared at him. He continued: "Can you do anything?" His gaze had meaning in it.

Temari, mouth open, looked at him for only a couple seconds longer before shaking her head. "No…No, I can't…" She blinked decidedly and wiped the tear away. "No one can help that…" she whispered grievously. "There's nothing we can do…"

Neji's breath hitched. "Come on…there…We can…" Suddenly he blinked and looked back down at TenTen, and his eyes widened. "TenTen…?!"

Her eyes were closed. "No…No, TenTen, please…" He shook her gently. He heard Temari let go of the tears piling up in her eyes, a small sob came out of her mouth. Neji grit his teeth. "TenTen, keep your eyes open…Come on…!"

She tried to obey, but it was obvious she just couldn't. She barely had any strength left, but she did utter softly with a final exhale; "Thanks Neji…"

"No…No, TenTen…" Neji felt his heart racing. Her pulse was weakening, and here he was kneeling on the floor just holding her and rocking her into her death.

Was this what he was supposed to do? He loved her…He knew it now, for certain, he was in love with her, and he assumed that holding her and gently soothing her into her death…

Maybe this was best…

And then it all clicked in his mind, as he remembered a conversation he'd had with her when they'd first met.

_"How old are you?"_

_"Nineteen."_

She hadn't even graduated High School…She hadn't even turned twenty.

It was all his fault.

He grit his teeth and shook her furiously. "TenTen…No, _no_! TenTen…_TenTen_—"

"—Move, child!"

Neji blinked and looked up. He heard Temari gasp loudly as a large blond woman was suddenly seen kneeling down in front of Neji and TenTen. She reached over, a long manicured hand reaching out for TenTen.

For TenTen…

Feeling a fury boil under his skin Neji roared, "Don't touch her!" angrily, wrenching the unconscious, dying body away from the woman.

"No, Neji, let her help!" Temari suddenly cried, stepping forwards. Neji stared at Temari. "She's Tsunade," Temari said earnestly. "She's a demon…!"

Neji turned back to Tsunade, who gazed at Neji affirmatively. "Let me help her, child," Tsunade insisted.

"What are you going to do…?" Neji asked cautiously, laying TenTen out a little closer to Tsunade. He still kept a tight grip on her though.

Tsunade thinned her lips as she reached her hands over TenTen, one over the girl's forehead, the other over the wound on her stomach. "Unfortunately my life force was tied to Sakura there, and when you idiots decided to just kill the lady…" Tsunade closed her eyes, focusing. "Well, it's not like there's anything left for me in this world anyways. Let's just say I'm going back where I came from."

"Yeah, and where's that?" Neji muttered darkly, watching the woman's hands suddenly shine with a green glow surrounding them.

Tsunade looked up again and Neji, and her painted lips curved in a smirk. "Hell."

Steam suddenly erupted from the area surrounding TenTen's wound, and the next thing Neji noticed was that the skin was patched up, and there was a rather large scar stretching around it. Soon after that, TenTen's eyes flickered open, and she gasped and rolled over onto her stomach, propping herself on her elbows as she coughed sloppily, blood dripping out of her mouth. Tsunade sat back, and heaved a sigh.

"There," she muttered, and TenTen, still coughing slightly, glanced up at Tsunade, eyes catching onto the older woman's face. Tsunade stared back down at TenTen, and she couldn't seem to help but smile. "For some reason," she said as she looked down at TenTen, "I don't think I regret this."

And with that, she was gone. A strong breeze swept through the room, and Tsunade's rounded body disintegrated into thin black smoke, which brushed away into the air.

TenTen kept herself up on her shaking elbows for a couple seconds longer, then she dropped onto her stomach on the ground, coughing.

Neji immediately relaxed to his knees next to her, and grabbed her hand clumsily. "TenTen…are you…?" He couldn't find the words.

But she smiled, wiping a bit of blood away, and with the hand he held, her thumb traced his. "I'm okay…" She whispered. She laughed weakly.

"You were right. Neji."

22

_**new song: **Behind Blue Eyes_ by _The Who_. I love The Who, but if you say anything(good)about CSI Miami I will eat you.

_**a/n: **_Just to let everyone know, the virus victims were not zombies, so get over yourselves. Also, none of you got the character death right, as I predicted. You all owe me your virtual servitude. Everyone reading this is officially my bitch. But don't worry, you'll find out in the next chapter who dies. And your servitude to me will have to die along with them. It'll be fun while it lasts, though, I can guarantee it…For myself, anyways. Allow me to wish you good luck while I conduct my maniacal cackle.

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	23. Death

equilibrium

23

_No one knows what it's like  
To be hated  
To be fated  
To telling only lies  
_

Temari stared down at TenTen's face resting on her knees. She'd collapsed unconscious about a second after Neji picked her up, but it was evident she was only exhausted from almost dying, and being healed at the last minute. Demons weren't exactly gentle, Temari remembered bitterly.

She looked up and over to the passenger seat. She was accustomed to watching Shikamaru sitting there, head against the window and staring out at the clouds. But for now, Neji was in his place, and was leaning back in his seat, staring down at his lap. He wasn't saying much, it had been that way since TenTen had collapsed.

Temari turned her gaze to the seat in front of her, seeing Shikamaru's fingers tapping the wheel to the music blasting from the speakers. He'd recognized the stress etched into the Neji's face, and volunteered to drive, noting that Neji was in no condition. Neji had barely reluctantly accepted, but said nothing. Which was odd, because he hated anyone touching his precious car.

Temari sighed and looked back down at TenTen, pulling some of the girl's long hair from her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder…

What if Tsunade hadn't been there…?

Temari bit her cheek; she knew what would have happened. She knew what she could have done. And she knew what she wouldn't have done.

Trying to distract herself, she looked up and out the window to watch the scenery. And as it flitted by, she sat up slightly. "Hey…" she said suddenly, catching Shikamaru's attention. Neji barely looked up. She tapped at the glass of the window. "Look at that house. It's for sale, and looks pretty beat up."

As Shikamaru sped on, he twisted his neck to look behind the car, and spotted the house as well. It was a large grey one, with two stories and an almost medieval structure. Rickety and broken down, Temari could almost see it swaying in the wind.

Shikamaru tapped a finger on the steering wheel and prepared to make an illegal U-Turn, murmuring "Home sweet home."

WeTqYuOiPlAiSbDrFiGuHmJ

"You're awake, huh?"

TenTen looked over her shoulder at Temari entering the tiny bedroom in the second floor of the old house. TenTen was sitting, her hair down and pleasantly drowsy, on a dusty bed, and she swung her legs over to sit up straighter as Temari walked over, giving the older woman a small smile.

"Yeah…" She rubbed her eyes slowly. "Where…um…"

Temari grinned and sat down next to her, watching her. "We're a ways north of Klamath," she explained. "We found this pretty little place and decided to take a stop." She laughed and kicked her legs up a bit. "Aint' it beautiful?"

TenTen laughed softly, pulling a strand of hair from her eyes. "So…" She said slowly. Temari tilted her head to the side. TenTen coughed. "Um, so what happened? I didn't really…"

Temari shrugged. "Sakura tried to kill you; shot you in the stomach. Then Shikamaru killed Sakura, and Tsunade came along and killed _herself_ to fix you." Temari sighed. "Overall, pretty much everyone in the poor old town is probably dead. I assume by killing Sakura, we killed off all the virus victims as well as Tsunade."

"Tsunade…" TenTen said suddenly. "She was the one that fixed me…? I thought she was a demon…"

"Yeah, she was," Temari said thoughtfully. "But not all demons are bad. Take me for example."

"Well sure, but you're a _half_ demon," TenTen reminded her. "Why would Tsunade save _me_?"

"She did say there wasn't much left for her, or something like that," Temari said. "Maybe she just didn't have anything better to do with what life force she had left. Remember, the only way to separate a demon from its host is to kill the host."

TenTen nodded perceptively. "…Yeah…But before…" Suddenly, TenTen's lips curled into a smile, and she had to hide her face in her hands.

Temari raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help but smile herself as TenTen gave a shrill, girly giggle into her palms. "What?" Temari asked with a laugh of her own. TenTen looked up at Temari happily and suddenly both women broke into a fit of giggles. "What, what?" Temari insisted happily, even though she knew what was coming.

"Neji…" TenTen said slowly, unable to wipe the smile off of her face. "He…"

"He kissed you, I saw, I saw!" Temari cried finally, and TenTen let out a little shriek and flung her arms around Temari's neck. The two woman again started laughing and hugged each other ecstatically. Temari pulled back and poked TenTen with a grin. "You two are totally in love, girl!"

"You think so?" TenTen asked perkily, a blush slowly dying her cheeks pink. "You think so?"

"I really do," Temari said with a sprightly bob of the head. "That's so great, TenTen…"

TenTen smiled buoyantly through her blush. "Temari, I…" She bit her lip. "I love him so much…"

"That's so great, TenTen…" Temari said again, truly happy for her. But suddenly she lost the look and glowered. "If only Neji would get the stick out of his ass himself…"

TenTen blinked. "What…?" Her eyes widened. "How is he doing?"

"He hasn't been talking much recently. Shikamaru's down there trying to get some sense out of him right now, but I doubt it's doing any good," Temari muttered with a shrug. But her expression brightened yet again as she gazed at TenTen. "But I know _you'll_ be able to give him a little bounce! Come on, get up."

"H-Huh?! No, Temari, I can't face him after—!"

"Oh come on, this is the only way!"

"But I look terrible!"

"You look _adorable_."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Hey, would I be hooking you up if I thought you looked terrible? You look cute when you're all scruffy like that."

"I-I look…_scruffy_?! Temari, you cunt, what are you trying to do?!"

**e**_q_u_**i**_l**i**_b_r_**i**_u**m**

"Guess who's finally awake," Temari sang jauntily, steering TenTen into the large living room of the old house. Shikamaru looked up from the sofa he sat at, and Neji stared at TenTen from his spot leaning against the kitchen door. He and TenTen made eye contact briefly before Shikamaru said, "Morning Kiddo," with a smirk. He patted the sofa next to himself. "Sit down before you faint. And have this." He chucked a can of soda at her along with a box of Tic-Tac's, and she caught them easily.

"Thanks," she said shyly, sitting down next to him and opening the soda, watching the liquid fizzing to the top immediately. As she took a sip Temari walked over to the large circular coffee table sitting chipped and lonely in front of the sofa, and sat down on top of it easily. "So," she said with a large smile on her face. "I guess this means that's we're back to square one, huh?"

Shikamaru looked up. "What're you going on about?"

"We have to start again from scratch," Neji explained for Temari, eyes dark and speaking for the first time in a while. "Tsunade was our one and only clue to where Hidan may be. And now we have to start all over again, because you, Shikamaru, decided to be a wise guy and kill Sakura."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "Hold on a second, are you blaming it all on _me_?!"

"Yes, I'm glad you got the point."

Shikamaru grit his teeth. "Dude, the chick had a gun, she was insane. What the fuck did you expect me to do?!"

"Maybe _think_ a little bit?!" Neji straightened up and glared at Shikamaru. "You're going to die, Shikamaru, and you're not even _trying _to stop it! Do you even care?!"

Finally TenTen spoke up. "N…Neji, I don't think it's that bad…We can start over and—"

"No, don't _you _even try!" Neji said, suddenly exploding at her. TenTen sat still in shock as he said loudly, "This is your fault too!"

Temari's eyes were wide, and she scooted a little further back on the coffee table. "I…" TenTen closed her eyes patiently. "I know it's my fault," she said quietly.

"Then why the hell did you do it?" Neji demanded furiously. "TenTen, why the _hell_ did you do that?!"

TenTen's eyes were already starting to fill with tears. "She was going to shoot you…" she said, voice quivering. "You were—"

"That doesn't mean you have to jump in front of me!" Neji groaned and slammed a hand into the wall, which vibrated under the pressure. Temari and Shikamaru were dreadfully silent. "TenTen, that was _stupid_! How much of an idiot can you be?!"

TenTen bit her lip and turned her face up to look straight at him. He froze when his eyes met hers, and Temari and Shikamaru looked on, seeing the energy on TenTen's face. The determination. The swaggering acceptance.

The silence rang on, before Neji finally snapped out of it and looked away. "Just go lay down. I don't even want to look at you," he muttered darkly. When TenTen didn't move, he said a little louder, "That's an _order_," and TenTen's breath hitched. She stood, and left the room swiftly, taking the Tic-Tac's with her and not looking at anyone, leaving the finished soda behind.

When the door closed, Temari waited 'till she could no longer hear TenTen's footsteps climbing the staircase, then she stood up swiftly and said clearly, "You no good, prick-ass, stupid son of a bitch."

Neji blinked and turned around, shocked, as Temari took a step forwards dangerously. Shikamaru laughed a bit nervously and stood up as well. "Okay, let's not start a fight there hunny. Neji would crush your skinny body like a twig."

"That's before I wring his neck," Temari growled, and she flicked Neji off when he rolled his eyes.

"Get over yourself," Neji muttered, leaning against the door again. "You're acting like a ki—"

"—Don't you _dare_!" Temari yelled at him, enraged. "Do you have any idea how TenTen feels about you?!" Neji was silent, but he closed his eyes, and Temari said it for him: "She _loves_ you, you jackass. She can't stop thinking about you, she's obsessed with you, she thinks you're a _god_!"

"I know…" Neji said loudly, but his voice was sad, and Temari kept going, still defensive. "You're _everything_ to her! She would do anything for you, she would _die_ for you, and she just proved it!"

"I _know_," Neji repeated, voice raising. Shikamaru stared between the two, alarmed and slightly daunted.

Temari did not stop. "And what do you do?! You call her an _idiot_, and tell her to go away! She _jumps _in front of a _bullet_ to save _your_ sorry ass, and you call her _stupid_!"

"_I know_!" Neji yelled. That shut Temari up, but she thinned her lips together with bitterness.

Shikamaru finally said something. "Then what do you feel for her?" he queried. Neji looked at him. Shikamaru frowned. "I mean, I asked you before, and you said it wasn't true. But it's obvious you were lying."

Neji closed his eyes. "…What do you want me to say…?" he asked quietly, finally submitting.

"The truth, man."

Neji opened his eyes and looked down at himself. He heaved a sigh, and said softly, "I love her."

Shikamaru was silent for a second, as Temari smiled a bit through her clamor, and then he said, "Then what are you gonna do?"

Neji looked up. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked airlessly. "You saw what she did for me, what if something like that happens again? What am I…" He grit his teeth. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to keep her safe," he whispered. "And it makes me…so _angry_, I just can't see her go through that again!"

"That _won't _happen again if you just tell her how you feel!" Temari said with an agitated laugh. "Neji, don't you get it?! She did that because she was so uncertain, she didn't know where she stood with you, but if you just tell her, and get it over it, it'll all be perfectly balanced!" Temari groaned with a bit of happiness. "_Ne_ji, you will make her _so happy_."

Neji stared at Temari. It was silent. "Then…I just have to…?"

Temari suddenly stiffened in surprise, and a strong breeze rippled through the house. The three in the living room were absolutely silent as the cold wind whistled through the cracks in the wooden walls, and the old grey house creaked and groaned with the strain.

"Someone's here."

Shikamaru and Neji stared at Temari in alarm as without another word she darted over to the wall, and blinked her eyes. The blue turned to black, and she pressed her palm against the wall, listening and gazing at nothing.

"What's going on?" Neji asked slowly.

"Someone followed us," Temari said seriously. "All the way from Klamath."

"What…?"

Temari shook her head, moving her palm flat around the wall, searching for _something_. "I _thought_ there was someone there, but I figured I was just getting vibes from all the other drivers, or I was being paranoid after all the virus victims, but…I'm sure of it now."

"Then who is it?" Shikamaru asked eagerly. "_What_ is it?"

Temari shook her head, closing her black eyes. "I don't know…" she whispered. "Be quiet."

The other two obeyed as Temari took a step closer to the wall. "They're moving…fast…" she murmured, concentrating. "They're…right at the side of the house. Near the back." Suddenly she opened her eyes, and her face was slowly changing to one of shock. "They're…climbing the wall…!" she said, alert. "They're really fast…I can't…"

Suddenly she gasped in horror and pulled her hand away from the wall, whipping around to face the other two. "TenTen!" she yelled. Neji's eyes widened.

There was the sound of a gunshot. A familiar sound, but for some reason, this one was the worst any of the three had ever heard.

Immediately, Neji was running down the hall, pulling his gun out of his jacket. Shikamaru followed, pulling a stumbling Temari along behind them. They slammed up the stairs, Neji in the lead, and finally Neji ran to a stop in front of TenTen's door.

"TenTen?!" he yelled, and tried jiggling the knob. He swore harshly. "It's locked!"

"Move!" Temari yelled impatiently. Shikamaru and Neji both swung to the side, and Temari stared at the door with her black, smoky eyes; the door burst off of its hinges and flew, spiraling, into the room.

Neji ran in first, and the other two came in second, holding their guns out cautiously.

The scene, though none of them wanted to believe it, was obvious.

The window was broken, its shattered glass littering the dirty floor like diamonds and casting rainbows along the short ceiling. The bed where TenTen was supposed to have been was empty, and the little container of Tic-Tac's she'd been eating was lying not too far away on the floor, a few of the little orange beads of candy scattered among the broken glass.

And in the corner, a dark mass of black smoke was huddled, expanding and contracting in its own floating matter. As if it could see them, it disappeared into the air after they'd all gotten a good view of it. But it was too late. They knew what it was. They'd seen it before. The wings. The long snout. The dragon-like tail.

It was TenTen's demon, and as Temari collapsed to the ground on her knees in defeat, as Shikamaru put a hand slowly over his eyes, and as Neji stared in disbelief and uncertainty at the empty bed, the one law that they'd followed since they met the girl was coming back to them. Voices echoed in their heads:

_"The only way to separate a demon from its host is to kill the host. That's the balance of their bond. That's their __equilibrium."_

23

_**a/n: **_I've realized that every Easter, I kill off someone important. As many of you are probably pissed at me, maybe I should go choke on my chocolate bunny and die.

But first, to brighten the mood; I've also realized that every time I stick the word 'pop' into this story, I remember that people outside of Michigan call it 'soda', and I have to change it. You weirdoes, fucking up my slang…

ShamelessSelfPromotion: Check out my new story 'flicker'. It's sad, and pretty, and in-universe, and will be containing ShikaTema, and NejiTen, and only has three reviews. :D

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	24. Voices

equilibrium

24

_But my dreams  
They aren't as empty  
As my conscience seems to be_

"Neji…"

Neji looked over his shoulder at Temari. But it was hard. He never knew how much a heart could hurt, and how much it could weigh him down. Everything felt heavy and numb. "What?" he said, speaking for the first time. He voice was hoarse and weak.

He and Temari sat, their backs to each other, on opposite ends of the bed. The blood was still soaking into the floor; untouched. Temari let out a long, shaky breath. "I'm sorry…" she said at last.

Neji twisted back to the front, confused, and stared at his lap. "What for?" he asked throatily.

"For what I said to you before," Temari continued sadly. "I get it. I get why you acted like that…Because I did too." She closed her eyes. "Hell, I…I can't even tell the truth to Shikamaru."

Neji turned around again slowly to look at her. "What?" he asked softly.

Temari opened her eyes, and met his. It was silent as she looked at him, then she sighed and leaned 'till her back was touching the bed. "Nothing," she said to the ceiling. "Let's just…not let anything happen to Shikamaru. Okay?"

Neji grit his teeth and leaned forwards, letting his head rest on his knees. His hands were shaking.

_"It always made me feel warmer, reading stories, listening to other people's voices…"_

Neji could still hear TenTen's voice. Clear as a bell.

_"But sometimes, I used to wonder if it would be warmer with someone else…"_

Neji closed his eyes. He could see her face now, right in front of him. Her warm smile, her eyes glittering.

_"__I might as well be concerned for you too, Neji__."_

It hurt.

_"It's worth it, after all."_

It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt.

_"Everyone back at home is studying about now for midterms, and __I'm__ hunting ghosts with someone as amazing as you!"_

He wanted to throw up.

_"I would do anything for you…"_

He wanted to hurt something.

_"Yes sir!"_

He wanted to hurt himself…

euqeuqiuliilbirbirbiruimu

Shikamaru returned about half an hour later, walking into the room with silent frustration. "Nothing," he said to the two, remembering to keep his voice down. "Everything's closed. They said it was an electric storm, and I guess we didn't notice 'cause this house doesn't have any electricity."

"So it…" Temari sat up and sent a wary glance towards Neji. "So it…could have been a demon…?" she said softly.

Shikamaru heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall, tired. "I don't know…" he said quietly, staring at the puddle of blood. Temari looked down as well and chewed on her bottom lip.

Again the silence rang eerily through the room. They could hear the wind outside, moaning and rattling through the thin walls. It was cold, but none of them dared to complain.

Shikamaru stared down at the blood. He could still hear TenTen's voice in his head.

_"We can't let them win, Shikamaru."_

Without realizing that he was doing it, Shikamaru took a couple steps forwards.

_"I know that some day, we're going to step up, and they're going to know that it's our turn."_

He moved as if in slow motion to one knee, and stared down at the droplets of TenTen's blood.

_"Maybe that'll be the day we die."_

He moved a hand down, and it hovered in the air above the red orbs.

_"But it'll be worth it."_

His eyes widened, and his heart seemed to start up all over again.

He jumped to his feet. Temari and Neji stared at him, angry and confused, as he said, "This isn't right!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Temari hissed, watching him, bewildered, as he stumbled over to her purse next to her on the bed.

"Do you have a notebook in here?" he asked, snatching it up.

"Shikamaru…" Temari gave a frustrated laugh as he pulled out a little green notebook and dropped the purse back onto her lap. He strode over to the blood again, careful not to step in it, and quickly began ripping pages out of the notebook and laying them down in the blood, letting them soak it up.

Temari stood up slowly and walked closer, and Neji stared at Shikamaru as he continued laying the paper down over the blood.

Finally, Shikamaru stood back to admire his handiwork, and Temari said carefully, "What are you _doing_…?"

"I took a course in Forensic Science in High School," Shikamaru explained, watching the sheet gradually turning red. "Those blood splatters aren't in the right position."

"H…How does that have _anything _to do with—?!"

"—Just wait!" Shikamaru interrupted Temari impatiently, and he bent over and grabbed the papers, now, dripping with blood, to pull them off to the side. He hurriedly lay them down on the floor in a pattern.

This time, Neji stood up, and Temari's mouth fell open.

Even as he was making it, they could recognize what it was; a charm, a spell used by witches and demons and humans alike. Dark magic.

The blood soaking into the paper dipped around in angles and lines, and soon was in the shape of a circle, with a strange starred design in the middle. All around the edges and in the spaces were tiny foreign pictures.

"I knew it…" Shikamaru said slowly, his whole face brightening. "I knew it!"

"Shikamaru, what the hell is going on here…?" Neji said slowly, gazing at the design and stepping forwards to stand next to Temari. "What is this…What does this mean…?"

"I've seen it before," Temari whispered, appalled. "It's the same spell my dad was trying to use on _his_ dad…when _your _dad killed him…"

Shikamaru nodded. "It's originally used to either bring people back to life, or tether their spirits to something significant."

"So TenTen's either alive, or…" Neji said slowly, his voice raising as he realized what this meant, suddenly ecstatic.

"…or we have to find whoever killed her…Which is probably the case…" Temari too was starting to smile. "Shikamaru, how…?" She stared at the boy, and in her eyes was a fondness she hadn't felt for a long time. "…Genius…" She let out a bubbly laugh.

Shikamaru grinned and shook his head. "_I_ can't believe I did this myself…" he said excitedly. "I mean, I was so ready to accept…" His voice faded away when Neji looked at him quickly, and he coughed. "But…this isn't gonna be easy…" he said, crossing his arms thoughtfully and looking down at the blood. "I mean, for starters, we don't even know who it is that did this to her…"

"Well who are our options?" Neji asked. He frowned. "I mean, Hidan definitely."

"But TenTen's not even part of the payment," Shikamaru said shaking his head. "He would come for me or you, if anyone."

"Then who else?" Neji suddenly looked at Temari, who had a finger to her lips.

Temari slowly turned to the other two. "…I guess…" She closed her eyes. "Ami."

Shikamaru's eyebrows lifted. "Ami? That chick that hunts half demons? Wouldn't she rather kill _you_?"

Temari shook her head. "Remember what Sakura said? She got a lot of money for 'that'. Whatever 'that' was, I think it was to kill TenTen. She just didn't expect me to…" Temari paused. "…to strike back so hard."

"What does that have to do with Ami?"

"That's Ami's game," Temari said with a shrug. "She's known to bribe people into killing for her. Very influential people. Like witches, or vampires…"

"But why TenTen?" Neji shook his head. "There's no reason…"

Temari's eyes were downcast. "I think it's just…" She sighed. "I think she wants us to follow her," Temari said softly. "I think after Sakura failed, she knew she couldn't get me directly. So now she's set up a trap. For me."

"But why _TenTen_?" Neji repeated, voice raising.

"That's who she trapped with me the first time," Temari recalled. "Plus, she was wounded and alone, without a weapon. It was the perfect opportunity."

"That makes sense…" Shikamaru said slowly, watching Temari. She didn't look at anyone. He sighed. "Neji…how about you? What do you want to do…?"

Neji closed his eyes, finding his patience. "I guess…that's our best shot…" he said. He opened his eyes again.

"Might as well take it."

muirbiliuqe

Shikamaru couldn't help but watch Temari as she packed. Neji, eager enough, was already loading things into the car. Temari was the slowest, predictably, and Shikamaru decided that judging by what had happened in the house, he didn't want to leave anyone inside alone.

He grinned at a CD she slipped into her bag. "I see Foreigner."

Temari blinked at the sudden outburst and looked down at the album, now nestled comfortably among her clothes. She laughed as she zipped her bag up. "Well who could leave Foreigner out of their collection?" she queried as she slung the bag over her shoulder.

Shikamaru smiled a bit as he watched the muscles in her arm flex as she did so. She didn't have those muscles before she met him. For some reason that made him feel good about himself. But she also didn't have that sad look in her eyes before she met him, and he frowned a bit as he stared at her. "It's not your fault, you know."

Temari looked up at him in surprise. He nodded. "That TenTen died," he continued. "You had no control over it. Don't feel so bad."

Temari stared at him. "Shikamaru…" She sighed. "I was right there…" she whispered. "And it was be_cause_ of me…"

"Yeah, but you didn't do it." Temari looked up at him again uncertainly. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, still seeing the doubt in her eyes, and walked forward, grabbing her arm. He felt her muscles tense, and his lips curled into a smile again.

"Come on," he insisted. "Remember when you used to slap me for talking to you like this?"

Temari stared at him, and she smiled too, obviously trying not to laugh. Shikamaru grinned. "It's not like I don't want to lay down with you on top of the Impala and listen to Metallica and forget about everything," he admitted. "It's not like I don't want to just cry my heart out into you. I do. I want to give up, I want to just walk away from all this bullshit."

He narrowed his eyes. "But that's what I did before, when I left my dad and Neji for school. And it just followed me around. I can't run away from myself, from my problems." He smirked. "And I'm not going to let you either."

Temari gazed at him with her blue eyes, and her lips move slowly: "I'm keeping a secret from you," she whispered.

He shrugged. "Then make that one of your problems."

She stared at him for a little longer, then finally, she laughed, and her smile nearly broke Shikamaru's heart. "Okay, I will," she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp.

Shikamaru chuckled. "You'd better." He paused. "Wait."

She turned around and faced him, on her way out the door. "Yeah?"

"Promise you'll do anything," he said, watching her carefully. She raised an eyebrow. "I know I'm going to die soon," he said carefully. "And I want to die knowing that you would…do anything…"

He forced himself to look directly into her eyes. "Would you?" he asked quietly.

He could remember when he first saw her sleeping. She looked like she was sleeping now. Her chest moved up and down with her gentle breath, her sky-blue eyes were dim and heavy, her lips were full and pink and parted and were moving now to say "Yes."

And Neji's voice spoke too. "Yes."

Shikamaru and Temari both whipped around to face him. He stood in the doorway, and for the first time in a while, there was a small smile on his face.

The three stood in the room, facing each other. Their guns in their pockets were loaded with salt, the only thing that could dissolve a demon. Their knives were made of pure iron. Their water bottles had been filled with holy water.

"Alright, then." Shikamaru took a step forward, a smirk on his face.

"We have work to do."

24

_**a/n: **_Yes, I know this chapter was shorter than George Bush's penis. You don't have to mention it.

I recommend you listen to Foreplay/Long Time by Boston if you're going to re-read this. It'll make you smile. (:

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	25. Dreams

equilibrium

25

_I have hours, only lonely  
My love is vengeance  
That's never free_

At a small bar called Kugel's Keg in Hibbing Minnesota, the thin barman's sights were set on the young attractive blonde who sat at the counter. She had blue, suspicious eyes. In her hand was a beer, which she held limply and casually, and her perfect body was glazed by a black leather jacket, skinny jeans and heels.

The man's lips curled upwards to show off his sparkling grin, and he sidled forwards almost sluggishly 'till he got to her.

She barely reacted as he leaned down and rested his elbow on the counter, leering over her. "Hey sweetheart…" he said, his voice calm and attractive. "You never told me your name." It was just them in the bar, along with a girl who was cleaning the billiard table. Too early to attract too many people.

The blonde looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Temari," she said shortly, with a low, smooth voice.

The man's smile grew. "Pretty name," he said, "for a pretty girl."

Temari smiled, and it was dazzling. "Thanks," she said, but she turned back to examine her fingernails.

The barman tilted his head to the side and leaned a bit closer to her. "Hey, have you ever been on a motorcycle before?"

Temari turned back to him briefly. "I'm waiting for someone," she said.

"Oh yeah?" The barman winked. "I'm sure he'd be alright on his own. You, however…" He moved closer so he only had to whisper to be heard. "How about we get out of here?" he murmured huskily.

"I'm not interested," Temari said. She turned around again, obviously annoyed. The barman frowned, frustrated.

"Listen, I said let's get out of here," he said, voice raising a bit. The girl cleaning the billiard table paused and looked up.

Temari stared at the barman evenly. "And _I_ said I'm not interested," she said pleasantly.

The barman grit his teeth. "Honey, I've been led on all day today," he hissed. "I really suggest you—"

"—Cool it, Chuckles, she said she's not interested." The barman turned around and was face to face with Shikamaru. He looked a little ticked off, and a little eager.

The barman stepped forwards, and straightened himself up so he could level his eyes dangerously with Shikamaru's. "What's a twerp like you doing out here all alone?" he asked, advancing.

But he froze when the cold feel of a gun pressed to his temple sent shivers down his spine. He slowly let his eyes swivel to the side, and Temari stepped around him to show her face. "What makes you think he's alone?" she murmured darkly.

Shikamaru smirked and held out his hand. Temari gave him the gun and stepped back, and Shikamaru pointed the gun straight at the barman's forehead. "I'll make this very simple," he said calmly. "Let us know all the information you've got regarding Ami."

"Wh-What the fuck are you talking about, man?" the barman stuttered, sweating. "Listen, I'm sorry I hit on your girl, okay?! I've just been having a bad—"

"—Don't try to be funny," Temari interrupted him. She suddenly walked over to one of the tables, and kicked it over, so the underside was displayed clearly. A design was scrawled there with white paint. "Key of Solomon," Temari said as the barman gazed at the table. "I'm sure you're familiar with it. We have them on every corner of this place, and we lined each of the windows with salt."

"There aren't going to be any demons getting in or out of this place anytime soon," Shikamaru said, tilting the gun at a new angle. "And that includes you. Plus, this gun is filled with rock salt. Just in case you feel like pulling anything funny." He shook the gun once. "So. Care to spill the beans, or spill your brains?"

The barman stared at the two, and let himself pant in place for a little. The girl who had been wiping down the billiard tables was standing against the wall, cowering in fear with her hands pressed to her mouth. It was silent as everyone watched the bar man impatiently.

Finally, he lost the terrified look for a grin. His eyes glinted black, and he relaxed and leaned to one hip. "Wow," he said, letting himself laugh. "You guys sure came prepared. What can I do for you?"

"I already said it once," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. "Tell us what you know about Ami."

"Who?"

"Would you stop screwing around?" Temari demanded impatiently. "You know who we're talking about."

"I don't think I—" The demon couldn't finish his sentence. Shikamaru was slamming him into the wall in a split second, and he leaned forward and grabbed the man's throat.

"I have ways of making you talk," Shikamaru said softly, menacingly, his eyes glaring into the demonic black orbs in front of him. He pulled a long, iron knife out of his back pocket, and gently pressed it under the demon's chin.

Smoke escaped from his flesh, and the demon let out a pained hiss. "Fine! I know the bitch! I know the bitch!" he said loudly. The girl at the billiard table across the room was hiding her eyes.

"Where is she?" Shikamaru insisted.

"I don't know, alright?" the barman shouted. "She paid me a hell of a lot to kill the pretty blonde girl named Temari, that's all she told me to do! She never said where she was goin' next!

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"That's it."

Shikamaru stared at the demon for a while, and he knew; either the demon was lying, or he was never going to get the truth out of the damned thing.

He sighed and stepped out of the way, then twisted his head to Temari. Giving her the okay.

Temari thinned her lips, and nodded, then pulled out her gun and aimed it directly at the demon.

The demon saw, and glared at her. "You bitch," he hissed. "When you're in hell, I'm gonna take you down."

Temari smirked. "See you there, 'sweetheart'." She pulled the trigger, and his blood splattered up against the wall behind him as he collapsed to the ground.

Shikamaru sighed, and the two put their guns away. "Let's get out of here," he said to Temari.

"Hold on." Shikamaru watched as she slowly walked over to the girl at the opposite end of the bar, who was whimpering and shaking. She pulled her hands away from her face and saw Temari walking up to her, and she gasped and stumbled backwards, clutching the wall.

But Temari held up her hands calmly, a sign of a white flag, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a wallet, then slapped a huge wad of cash onto the billiard table.

The girl stared at Temari as she placed her wallet back in her pocket, Shikamaru behind her grinning with his hands in his pockets.

"For the booze," Temari said with a smirk.

єqυιℓιвяιυм

As Shikamaru and Temari walked out to the street in front of the bar, Shikamaru laughed a bit and opened up his cell phone, dialing the familiar number. "Nice going, Temari."

"Yeah, you too," she retorted cheerfully, squinting at the sunlight and watching her breath fog in the chilly air. "But you really couldn't seem to resist holding that guy against a wall. Gettin' a little kinky there, kiddo?"

"Oh you bet," Shikamaru said sarcastically. "Hey, Neji?"

He heard Neji's voice on the other line:_ "Yeah, you find anything?"_

"Well, you were right," Shikamaru said. "There was a demon there, and we took care of it. But…" He pulled his jacket closer to him and watched for cars as he and Temari hurried across the street. "Nothing. What about you?"

He could hear the squeak of a revolving chair, and knew Neji was sitting in front of a computer screen. _"Nothing."_

Shikamaru sighed. "Man, why are we even _in_ this town?"

_"Because we heard there might be a case here that might have somethin' to do with Ami, which we should probably get started on." _Shikamaru hopped over the curb of the other side of the street with Temari. _"How about you guys go ahead and interview that kid like I asked you to?"_

"Yeah, alright. We'll meet you at the library later."

_"Got it."_

"Get us some food or somethin'," Shikamaru added quickly before Neji hung up. He snapped his phone shut and glanced at Temari, who was rifling contentedly through another enormous wad of cash. "Where in hell's name did you get all that money?" he asked in exasperation.

"Well it seems there are a lot of folks around here that like to get a pick-me-up in the morning, and a few of them thought I was a waitress." She smiled as she snapped a hair band around the wad of cash.

"Come on, no one tips that much just for a waitress sitting down looking pretty," Shikamaru said with a disbelieving laugh.

"Yeah, well not everyone's very good at poker either."

Shikamaru stared at her, then burst out laughing.

3qu!1!8r!um

"I don't know what else to say, officers," the lady said. Temari and Shikamaru stood side by side in their leather jackets. Not exactly officer material, but their stern frowns set the mood. "We've already had the police come here three times this week." A small boy was staring up at them in awe from next to the woman's legs.

"Ma'am, we understand that you've been visited by the county department," Shikamaru said, flipping through the notebook in his hands. "But I think this is more of a matter for the _state_ police."

"Alright, Konohamaru. Why don't you tell us what you saw?" Temari said with a friendly smile directed towards the small boy.

He licked his lips. "Well…I saw Dan getting attacked by a monster…"

Shikamaru began to scribble in his notebook as Konohamaru's mother heaved an impatient sigh. "Really? Can you describe what actually happened?" Temari asked carefully.

"Well…I was watching TV, and I heard this really…weird sound."

"Like what?"

"Like this…whining growl."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and Temari watched Konohamaru carefully. "Then what?"

"Well…I looked out the window, and I saw Dan taking the trash into the dumpster…" Konohamaru gulped. "Then he got dragged away!"

"Uh huh…" Temari looked next to her at Shikamaru, and had to resist the urge to laugh. He was drawing circles around and around the paper, and was nodding seriously as he did so.

Konohamaru's mother thinned her lips. "Sweetie, why don't you tell them what you were watching last night."

"Um…" Konohamaru smiled guiltily. "Godzilla versus Mothra…"

Shikamaru suddenly looked up from his notebook and laughed. "Aw, that's my favorite Godzilla movie. It's better than the original."

Kankerou grinned nervously. "Totally."

"And who likes the remake?"

"Yuck!"

Temari turned to stare at Shikamaru, and Konohamaru's mother blinked in bewilderment. Temari turned back to her with a forced smile. "Well, that's all we needed. Thanks for your time." She grabbed Shikamaru's arm with a grip so tight he had to wince. "Come on, _officer_."

e Q u I l I b R I U m

"A 'monster', huh?" Neji sighed. The three sat in their motel room, each with a beer in their hand. An open pizza box sat between Shikamaru and Temari on Shikamaru's bed. "So there's a case here after all."

"Yup, seems so." Temari nibbled on a pepperoni. "Fortunately, we've already dealt with 'monsters', so I don't think this is going to be that much of a stretch."

"Yeah, we might as well check it out," Neji said with a shrug. "Besides, it's obvious Ami's sending these things our way, right? We've already been targeted by two demons."

"It's like I said before," Shikamaru said through a mouthful of pizza. "She's tryin' to stall us."

"That doesn't mean we don't take it on anyways," Neji pointed out. He pulled his laptop towards him across the bed. "I've been looking this place up, and it seems that Dan's disappearance was no kidnapping. Apparently this place has more missing persons per capita than anywhere else in the state."

"Definitely creepy-worthy," Shikamaru said with an approving nod.

"That's not all," Neji said. "According to the local _and_ state news, this town is under a kind of epidemic. The hospital is filled to the brim with patients that have mysteriously been placed into comas."

"Even more creepy," Temari said for Shikamaru.

"And the first one?" Shikamaru asked.

Neji turned his laptop around so they could see the colored ID picture of an awkward young man with dark hair and large eyebrows. "His name's Rock Lee. He's been in a coma for six months."

"Lemme guess. Six months ago is around the time people started disappearing," Shikamaru said as he chewed.

"Straight up."

Shikamaru finished the last of his pizza. "Well, then. Let's go pay the guy a visit."

ɯnıɹqılınbǝ

"Now why exactly do you need to write a report on _this_ patient in particular?" the doctor asked as he led the three through the gleaming white halls of the hospital later that day. He had long pale hair, and wore a surgical mask covering his face. The sun glinted through the windows, and their reflections winked back at them on the linoleum floor.

"We just need to be thorough, now can you tell me exactly what is wrong with Lee?" Shikamaru asked patiently as they walked.

The doctor stopped by one of the doors and pressed down on the handle. "It's hard to say," he said as he opened the door and gestured them inside. "He's been asleep for so long, but he's living and breathing just fine."

The doctor crossed his arms and the other three stood there and watched the boy in the small bed in the corner of the room. His dark hair was splayed across his face, which, although knobby, was quite healthy. "It's almost like Lee's in a permanent dream," the doctor said, shaking his head with pity.

Neji drew up a chair from the side of the room and got out his laptop. "I hope you don't mind. We won't bother him," he said to the doctor, who nodded and turned to leave.

"I'll be back later, take all the time you need but please be quiet, officers."

Once the doctor's retreating footsteps faded from earshot, Temari immediately walked over to the table near Lee's bed and looked through the three bottles of pills. Two of them were normal sleeping aid pills or pain relievers. But the one she picked up last, she frowned at.

"Shikamaru, what's Silene capensis?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Silene capensis." Temari held up the bottle. It was darker and larger than the other two, and instead of pills it held a poorly sorted powder inside. "That's what is says on the label."

"Well how the hell should I know?"

"You're supposed to be a genius, aren't you?"

"Memorizing the periodic table of elements doesn't help me in guessing what Silene capensis is," Shikamaru muttered. "Neji, Google it."

"One step ahead of you," Neji said, not looking up from his computer. "Silene capensis, otherwise known as African Dream Root…Apparently it will make your dreams colorful and lifelike."

"Huh. Wonder why they're bothering giving this to a guy in a coma," Temari said.

"Maybe they thought he'd get bored," Shikamaru snorted.

"Excuse me…" They jumped, and Temari quickly hid the bottle in her jacket. The doctor came back into the room, and he had a stressed expression on his face. "I'm sorry, but I've forgotten to give Lee a bit of IV today. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Of course. We'll be out of your way." Neji said immediately. The doctor smiled gratefully and ushered them out of the room. But Temari paused very briefly when she noticed three pill bottles in his hand; all dark and large, like the Silene capensis one she had hidden up her sleeve.

Temari caught up to the other two and pushed them quickly around the corner. "Did you guys see that?" she asked under her breath as they made their way to the side doors. "He had a whole bunch of those African powder bottles in his hand."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Neji muttered. "That guy has a weird vibe around him. Why was he wearing a surgical mask when he doesn't need to be?"

They walked out into the cold air and passed a large, rusty truck that was starting in the parking lot. As it rumbled noisily past them, Temari paused and held out her arms so the other two stopped as well. "Hey, you guys hear that?" she asked quietly. They watched her, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sounds kind of like a whining growl, doesn't it?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Doesn't matter right now honey."

She nodded. "Don't call me that…" But she didn't let her eyes escape that truck 'till it was out of sight.

equilibrium øøø

"Wow, this Lee kid was a trooper," Shikamaru said later as they sat yet again in their motel room. He was puffing on a cigarette and reading an article on the laptop as he sat propped up against the wall on his bed.

Temari, sharing a beer with Neji, looked over. "What, does he sleepwalk to the bathroom?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "When he was still goin', his leg was paralyzed in a car accident."

"Not too lucky, huh?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, before that he was a pretty good basketball player, though he didn't look it," Shikamaru said interestedly. "He said he dreamed of going on to the state championships, but then he got into the car accident, and a few weeks later, he fell into the coma. But they say even when his leg was paralyzed, he never gave up on his dream."

"Wow. Positive thinker," Temari said with a pity. "Poor kid."

Neji's phone broke the silence that followed. He quickly answered. "Kakashi?"

Shikamaru watched Neji and asked under his breath, "What'd you call Kakashi for?"

"For help, now shut up," Neji muttered. Shikamaru rolled his eyes as Neji said, "Oh…I guess we could do that…Okay, got it. Bye."

He hung up, and Shikamaru said, "What?"

"Kakashi said we've got a definite case on our hands here," Neji said. "African Dream Root is apparently also used to actually walk into other people's dreams."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise. "Is that possible?"

"Apparently it is, if you've got some part of that person's body included in the solution." Neji slipped his phone back into his pocket. "And you want to know something else I realized? That doctor didn't have a name tag."

Temari cupped her chin with a finger thoughtfully. "So I guess he's our main suspect here. But why would he want to walk inside of Lee's dreams?"

"That's what we have to find out," Neji said. "And apparently the best way to do that…" He suddenly held up the little bottle of African Dream Root, "is to get inside of Lee's head ourselves."

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"What did you get, Shikamaru?" Neji asked as he and Temari came back into the apartment. By now, it was late at night. He and Temari had spent a very aggravating day trying to get into the hospital, convincing the police they were innocent, running from the police, and changing the license plate on the car. While Shikamaru sat at the motel, having been told to conduct research on the African Dream Root.

However, as the two got inside, frustrated and exhausted, they saw Shikamaru sitting slumped in the chair at the side of the room in front of a long table. There were dark circles beneath his eyes.

Neji stared at him. "…Shikamaru…?"

He looked up slowly. "…What…?" he mumbled, not seeming able to meet Neji's gaze.

"What did you _get_, Shikamaru?" Neji repeated warily.

"...Nothing."

"Anything useful?"

"...No."

Neji stared at Shikamaru in disbelief as Temari sighed and walked over to one of the beds to relax. Neji groaned aloud and ran a hand through his hair. "Well don't sugar-coat it, it's not like we're under any fucking _pressure_!"

Shikamaru was unabashed. "You're bossy," he muttered, then suddenly let out a very shaky laugh. "Heh. And you look like a girl." Neji raised an eyebrow, and Shikamaru added, "From the back. You're all pretty and stuff."

Neji looked to Temari for answers, who just shrugged and shook her head, appalled. He then looked back to Shikamaru, and finally noticed next to him two large piles of shot glasses. He paused and said, trying not to believe it, "Are you…drunk...?"

Shikamaru held up his hands and sloppily gestured to himself. "Chyeah. So?"

"...Great." Neji heaved an angry sigh and began to pace around the room. "Great job doing research, Shikamaru, you're just _vivid_."

"Neji, Neji…" Shikamaru shook his head earnestly and sat forward, swallowing. He stared at Neji with enormous eyes and said, voice suddenly squeaky, "What are we _doing_?!"

Neji paused, a little unnerved by Shikamaru's sudden change in character. "...We're hunting a monster...?"

"Right! A monster, who _does_ that?!" Shikamaru cried, throwing himself back into the arm chair.

"...Us...?" Neji said warily.

"Right! Us! And that, Neji, that is exactly why our lives _suck_." Shikamaru snapped. Neji was silent, just watched Shikamaru, who only continued. "I mean, come on, we _hunt monsters_! What the hell?! I mean, normal people, they see a monster and they run, 'ah, oh my god, monster, scary, I'm gonna die!' but not us, no, no, no, we....we _search out_ things that want to kill us! Yeah? Huh? Or_ eat us_! You know who does that? _Crazy people_! _We_ are _insane_!"

Neji raised an eyebrow. Shikamaru let out a long moan and clutched his head in his hands. "You know, then there's the, the, the bad diner food, and, and the tacky motel rooms, and the lady at the gas station with the bizarre mustache...I mean, who wants this life, Neji?! Huh? Seriously! I mean, do you actually_ like_ being stuck in a car with me eight hours a day every single day?!"

Neji tilted his head to the side in thoughtful acknowledgment. Shikamaru nodded. "I don't think so! I mean, I sleep too much, and I listen to the same five albums over and over and over again, I'm annoying, I know that, and you...you're a _dick_!"

Neji lifted his eyebrows. Shikamaru pointed at Neji insistently. "You stub your toe and you get _flammable_, I mean, and then there's this like, like half-demon chick, and she lies to me, and I don't _like_ it, Neji!"

He turned to gesture to Temari, and blinked in surprise when he saw her. She sat on the bed and stared at him in confusion, and he tilted his head to the side. "Wow, alcohol makes people prettier..." Temari's mouth fell open, but Shikamaru didn't seem to even realize she was there. He turned back to Neji and pointed to her. "I mean, it's like, she's pretty, but she's a liar, she _lies _to me, Neji!"

Temari and Neji were both, by now, openmouthed as Shikamaru just rambled on: "And then there's the flashlights that keep dying on me, and the blood that gets caught under my fingernails, and the scary bad dreams, and, and the, the people that follow us wherever we freaking go...you know what _forget it_, I can't _do it _anymore, man!"

"...Are you okay?" Neji asked at last carefully.

"..._NO_!" Shikamaru yelled in a high pitched voice, and he swept an arm to the side, effectively knocking over three of the shot glasses, which crashed to the floor and broke. He stared at them in surprise, then crossed his arms and mumbled "I...I didn't do that..."

"Shikamaru, what is going on with you...?"

"I can't _handle _it anymore, Neji, that's what's going on! I'm done with the, the nightmares, and waking up every morning thinking 'holy shit I'm gonna die' and going to sleep worried about more nightmares, or maybe we didn't kill that goddamn werewolf good enough, but I'm...I'm gonna _die_ Neji! This...this _sucks_!"

It was absolutely silent. Temari and Neji gazed at Shikamaru, who was leaning forward on his knees as if finishing his first eulogy to the world.

Finally, Temari got gingerly to her feet and walked over. "...Alright, big boy, let's go to bed."

Shikamaru did nothing to protest, just glumly let Temari grab his arm, hoist him up, and pull him over to his bed. He flopped down on his stomach and grabbed the pillow, stuffing his face into it. Temari very slowly sat down next to him and put a hand on his back, Neji watching.

"You have a headache?" she asked carefully.

Shikamaru nodded into the pillow, then shook his head, then nodded again. Temari laughed slightly, and moved to put her hand on his head, but he grabbed her wrist before she could.

She blinked in surprise as he suddenly pulled her closer, and wrapped his arms around one of her thighs. "I meant it…" he slurred through a drunken haze, nuzzling his face into the fabric of her jeans. "You're really pretty…"

Temari gazed down at him, and it was obvious to Neji as he looked on, that her heart was twisting around itself. She smiled, put a hand to his head, and whispered, "Go to sleep." Her eyes turned black, and Shikamaru gradually fell into a peaceful dream.

She let him hug her leg for a little while longer before she cautiously got to her feet and pushed him into a more comfortable position. She turned to Neji, who sighed and turned his back on her.

He knew she was watching him, as she grabbed a blanket off of his bed and curled up in the chair Shikamaru had been in before. But he didn't care. He didn't want to look at her, or Shikamaru. He was sick of them, to tell the truth.

But he was planning something. After this job, he had a plan of his own. He rummaged through his bag, and put to the side the empty packet of Tic-Tac's TenTen had been eating before. It sat in the pocket where he kept his most important things, his charms and bullets and special blades.

Neji narrowed his eyes as he slowly let a hand tap it. He was tired of wasting time.

25

_**a/n: **_For those of you who keep asking: TENTEN IS NOT ALIVE. TenTen is dead. She's demised. She has passed on. She is no more. She has ceased to be. She's expired and gone to meet her maker. She's a stiff. She's road kill. Bereft of life, she does not rest in peace for if her soul wasn't tethered to earth by Ami's dark magic (hinthinthint) she'd be pushing up the daisies. She's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. TENTEN. IS. DECEASED.

As usual, on a lighter note: Don't you all love drunk!Shikamaru? He's inspired by frightened!Dean. I'm having trouble deciding which one gives the audience the better gasm. You tell me. (;

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	26. Bells

equilibrium

26

_No one knows what it's like  
To feel these feelings  
Like I do  
And I blame you_

When Shikamaru woke up the next morning, Temari instantly felt like teasing him. Not only because he was instantly sent into a fit of moaning over his hangover, but because his hair was down, and tousled around his pale and flushed face, his eyes were dim, and his lips were dry, and he looked cuter than she'd ever seen him.

"Good morning, Princess!" she sang brightly, walking with a bounce over to his bed where he lay sprawled along the pillows clutching his head. "I got you breakfast!"

Shikamaru stared at her glumly. "I don' wan' it."

"You sound like a baby," Temari snickered, chucking the greasy paper bag at him anyways.

He stared at it for a while, then suddenly grew paler, and clutched his stomach. "Oh shit…" he whispered, eyes wide.

Temari grinned as he jumped to his feet and stumbled towards the bathroom. She turned away, but the sound of him hacking into the toilet reached her ears, and she winced. "Better out than in," she called over her shoulder, amused. Shikamaru groaned.

Neji chose that moment to enter the motel room, a beer tucked safely under his arm and a large tin of beef jerky in his hand. He blinked in surprise at the sound of Shikamaru throwing up, and smirked. "How long's he been up?" he asked Temari, who laughed aloud and said "Only a couple minutes."

Neji sniggered and sauntered over casually to lean against the side of the bathroom door. Shikamaru was resting his arms on the toilet seat, and Neji said easily, "You know there's a great hangover remedy, it's a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ash tray."

"Aw, I hate you…" Shikamaru gagged.

"I know you do." Neji shook his head and smirked. "Man, what did you _do_ in college?"

"Shuddup…"

"Dork."

"Dick…Oh, god…"

As Shikamaru let another load out into the toilet sloppily, and Temari tried not to giggle too much, Neji leaned back against the wall just outside the bathroom and sighed. "Well, since your _dashing_ adventure with alcohol commenced last night, we couldn't go out and break into the hospital."

Shikamaru seemed about finished up. He was silent, though, and just his heavy breathing echoed around the bathroom. Temari watched the floor, and Neji said slowly, "So why _were _you drinking like that…?"

It was silent for a while, before the sound of Shikamaru clambering to his feet bounced off of the walls. He said hoarsely after a moment, "I just got kind of carried away. My bad."

Neji closed his eyes impatiently. "Yeah, it is _your bad_. We don't have any more time to waste, Shikamaru, we have to—!"

"—I know, Neji." Shikamaru groaned suddenly and let himself walk forwards and lean against the doorway. He wiped his mouth with a towel he snatched off of the rod to his left, and then turned to Neji. "Just get me an aspirin, and we can get ready to go break in to Lee's room."

"Ugh…" Neji shuddered visibly and strolled away from Shikamaru. "You need to brush your teeth first." Temari snorted.

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"You know, four aspirin should've given you a better high than what you're running on right now," Temari whispered.

"Just shut up and help me open this." Shikamaru struggled to slip a knife beneath the window of Lee's room, which they'd counted down to find. Neji was standing behind them anxiously. It was late at night, and the hospital lights gleamed down on them among the stars and the moon, the cold air burning their faces.

They finally got the window open, and Temari dropped in first, Shikamaru after her. "Hurry up," Temari could hear Neji hiss to them as she straightened up and looked around.

She saw Lee sleeping peacefully on the bed, the IV attached to his arm. As Shikamaru looked around, Temari walked over and pulled out a knife from her back pocket. She paused as she looked at Lee's sleeping figure. He thin, she noticed, and drawn. Almost even more so than earlier that day. She assumed his life was slowly leaving him.

She sighed and reached over to cut off a small lock of his hair very carefully. She clenched it in her hand and crossed the room to the window, then reached out and waved it in the air. She could feel Neji's hand clamp over hers soon enough, and she let him slip it from her fingers. "Okay, come on," he hissed, and she got ready to vault over the window and get out of there, but suddenly Shikamaru said, "Hey…"

Temari turned around and saw Shikamaru holding up a folder. "Doctor Anonymous left behind his personal files," Shikamaru said softly.

Temari frowned curiously and walked over. "What's it say?" she asked, looking over his shoulder as he opened it up.

He looked it over. "…His name's Dan…Wait…"

Temari gasped. "But that's the guy that the kid said was dragged away!" she said quietly. "…What the hell's going on…?"

"Look at this…" Shikamaru pointed out a red block of text a couple of pages over. "He has common sleep paralysis…"

"What's that mean?"

"He's unable to go into lucid sleep, which means he can't dream," Shikamaru muttered. "I read about this before...These people are supposed to go crazy after a while, I mean this is some seriously, psychologically fucked up stuff. There's hallucinations, pain, panic attacks…It's rare, but these people sooner or later try to kill themselves if they don't have a heart attack first."

"Eck…" Temari grimaced. "That's beautiful. So what, do you think maybe he's taking the African Dream Root to poke around inside of Lee's head and calm himself down?"

"Maybe," Shikamaru said with a frown. "And that must be what the kid saw when he thought Dan was being dragged away; these people have frequent spastic attacks, he must have been flailing around like crazy."

"So basically, this guy is probably just dragging a bunch of people out of the dark and putting them into comas so he can look around in their heads."

"Yeah, but the question is how do we catch Dan without getting into too much trouble?" Shikamaru muttered. "We already 'killed' the man that demon was inside of, we're already in enough trouble with the police."

"I guess we just have to look around inside of Lee's head and find him there," Temari said.

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Sound like a good—"

He was interrupted when the window suddenly slammed shut. He stared at it in surprise, and set down the folder immediately. "What the hell was that?" Temari whispered.

"No clue. Not good, though," Shikamaru said under his breath. He looked around, and nodded to the door across the room. "Is anyone there, can you tell?"

Temari closed her eyes and opened them again so they were black. She concentrated and looked around. "…Yes…" she said at last. "I can…kind of sense someone…they're in there…"

"What are they doing?"

"Can't tell, I'd have to put my hand on the door to find out," Temari said softly, blinking her eyes so they returned to their usual blue. "It could just be one of the patients in their beds that I'm sensing, you know…"

"I'll go check it out." Shikamaru slowly put his hand in his pocket and slipped out a flashlight. "You stay here and try to open the window, or get some contact with Neji."

"What? No, don't go off on your own."

Shikamaru turned around and smirked. "Aw, are you scared? Afraid of the dark, maybe?"

Temari smacked his arm and pushed him. "Get out of here," she growled as he laughed beneath his breath and stumbled towards the door. He sighed and pressed against the wall, opening the door and slowly and cautiously slipping inside the room connected to Lee's. He kept the door open only a crack.

Temari watched him go, and turned around to search the room grouchily. She walked again over to the window and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she tried. She jumped when Neji suddenly started knocking on the window, and he yelled through it, "Hey, are you guys okay?"

Temari nodded. "We're fine!" she said as loudly as she would allow herself through the thin glass of the window. "We just—"

Neji was suddenly waving his hands wildly. His lips were moving, but Temari couldn't hear him. "_What_?" she asked louder.

"Look out!"

Her eyes widened when she saw in the reflection of the window, the doctor right behind her.

Her vision turned white, there was a burning pain flashing through her head, and she didn't remember anything else except wanting to protect Shikamaru as she blacked out.

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Neji swore aloud as he saw Temari drop out of sight, and the doctor too. He turned on his heel, and ran for it. He knew that was the only thing he could do. Fortunately, as he slipped the lock of Lee's hair into his pocket, he knew that whatever was going to happen to Shikamaru and Temari, he could still stop it.

He jumped into his car and pulled towards him a water bottle filled with a dark, murky liquid. As soon as his fumbling fingers clumsily undid the lid of the bottle, the liquid hissed dangerously, and bubbled as oxygen was fed to it and released from its captivity. He pushed the hair in furiously, and let it plop into the liquid. He gulped nervously as he watched it immediately dissolve, and held the bottle up to the moonlight, staring at it.

He closed his eyes. Remembered for just a moment what Shikato used to say when he toasted life with a particularly strong beverage.

"Here's to Hell."

He tipped the bottle back into his mouth.

e Q u I l I b R I U m

_"I love you, Neji."_

Where was he? Everything was dark. His eyes were closed, he could tell by the cloudy black vision in front of him. But for some reason, he didn't want to get up. He didn't want to move.

_"I love you, Neji."_

He felt good, for some reason. Tired, and sleepy, and…just, good.

"I love you, Neji."

He bolted into a sitting position, and stared around himself.

He was still in his car in front of the hospital. Everything was the same, he was in the same seat and everything, holding the same water bottle…

But something…was different…

No. He shook his head, scoffing and rubbing the back of his neck, confused. What was going on? He'd taken the African Dream Root potion with Lee's hair. He should have been in Lee's head by now.

"What the hell's this…?" he whispered to himself, slowly stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut behind him.

He looked around. The same old tiny forest off the side of the road in front of the hospital. He could see the lights from the large building through the thickness of the trees' branches. The cold bit at his face, and his breath steamed out in front of himself.

He looked around, sticking his chilly hands in his pockets. Absolute silence. No voices, no chirping of birds…

It was almost eerily quiet.

Neji narrowed his eyes and took a step forwards. Immediately, the world spun. A white flash temporarily blinded him, and he flung his arm in front of his eyes. When he felt a little less dizzy, he slowly and carefully removed his sleeve from his face, and stared in front of himself, dumbfounded.

He was in a long, brightly-lit, white hallway. So white and clean, it would have burned his eyes if not for the intricate rugs, vases, flower pots and wall paintings decorating the area.

There was a door at the far end of the hallway. It was slightly ajar. Neji, not even meaning to do so, was walking towards it.

Everything seemed as if it was in slow motion, but at the same time too fast to handle. Neji knew, however foggy his mind suddenly was, that he was in Lee's head.

He kept walking. He didn't know why, but he was trying to get to the door. It was as if someone was telling him to go there.

He kept telling himself to keep going. Keep going, keep…what…?

He blinked, and, with greater force than it should have taken, he slammed his feet into the ground and pushed himself to stay still. He took a long breath, and exhaled it slowly, and shook his head. "Get a hold of yourself, man…" he whispered to himself, though not sure if there was anyone around or not. "Don't just walk in there without checking first…"

He reached inside of his leather jacket and pulled out his rifle, which fortunately seemed to be still loaded. He was just a few steps outside of the door.

Cautiously, slowly, he knocked the door open, and took a few steps inside.

And immediately dropped his guard at what he saw.

TenTen sat on a bed on the far side of the room. Well, not TenTen; _a_ TenTen, because there was no way the real TenTen would ever be caught dressed in front of Neji in a lacy white night gown, the straps falling off of one of her shoulders, her long brown hair tumbling down her back and curling around to frame her face.

She looked up in almost mock surprise when Neji froze in the doorway, and smiled, a pretty blush darkening her cheeks. "Neji! You're back…" She sat forward a little bit, and allowed herself to reveal to Neji a fantastic view of her cleavage. "I was waiting for a long time…" she murmured.

Neji gradually felt his jaw open up again, and he tried to find his voice, which seemed to be stuck somewhere in his stomach. He coughed, and held up a finger. His mouth hung open for a few seconds in which the TenTen replica smiled, amused, then he said weakly, "You're…not real…" and lamely waved a finger at her.

She tilted her head to the side, and suddenly one of her hands drifted up to pull the dress even farther off of her shoulders. With her eyes heavily lidded, and her lips glossed and lovely, she whispered, "I _feel_ real…"

"Okay…" Neji closed his eyes and shook his head. His mind was even more foggy than before. He opened his eyes again, and held the finger once more up in the air, mouth opening. He seemed as though he was about to state an eulogy. He stared at TenTen, she stared back at him with eyes that seemed to beg for him.

"Neji…" she mumbled sweetly. "I love you."

And so, like a man, Neji turned on his heel, strode out of the room, and slammed the door behind himself.

"Okay…" Neji whispered, leaning back against the door. "Note to self; no more doors…" He stared down at himself and gave a nervous laugh. "Whew."

"Don't you like my present?"

Neji whipped around in surprise, and stared up at none other than Rock Lee. His eyes widened at the sight of the man; this Lee was much healthier than the one in the coma. His face was flushed and full, his hair was long and glossy. Everything about him was filled with life.

And yet, as Neji looked into his eyes, he saw something was dead.

"She's a white flag, for you," Lee said with a smile. "You can have her for as long as you want. Then you have to leave." His smile floated on his face with macabre. "And leave forever."

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When Shikamaru woke next, he was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and strapped to a chair tightly by rope wrapped firmly around his chest. He groaned and struggled; he could feel a grimy pole behind him, digging into the back of his head. He was somewhere in the sewers, he could tell, once he glanced around himself and his vision got less hazy. Pipes threaded across themselves on the ceilings and slime-glazed walls, some watery substances oozing from the cracks and dripping with little plops onto the dirty cement ground.

Dan was there. He was looking through a few of Shikamaru's guns at the moment, and he turned when he heard Shikamaru's breathing quicken. He walked over to Shikamaru slowly, one gun dangling casually in his hand. His eyes were wide, and he met Shikamaru's.

Finally, he leaned back and punched Shikamaru in the face. Shikamaru cried out in pain and swore under his breath as the loud smack echoed through the tunnels. He tilted his head backward and managed to grind out in frustration "Where's Neji?"

Dan turned away and strolled back over to a table he'd spread Shikamaru's weapons along. "I wouldn't worry about him. I'd worry more about yourself."

"Nn..." Shikamaru blinked and whipped his head over his shoulder. He could vaguely see Temari sprawled against a wall, slowly waking up. One side of her head was injured, her wet red blood matting her light hair, and her bruised wrist was handcuffed to a pole next to her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she groaned an unladylike curse, before staring at Shikamaru and laughing weakly. "You're not much better off, heh?" she said hoarsely, coughing.

Shikamaru turned his head in disbelief to Dan again. Dan noticed, and smiled. "Oh, you don't need to worry about her either."

"Temari, how did he get you?" Shikamaru asked angrily, ignoring Dan and craning his head back to her.

"Snuck up on me from behind. How else?" Temari muttered, spitting blood. She shifted and pulled on the cuffs insistently, glaring at them. Her other hand flew up to her head, and she winced. "Son of a bitch..."

"That's my mother you're talking about," Dan said loudly over his shoulder. He sighed and turned around, facing Shikamaru. "You're lucky she's a lady," he said directly to him and not regarding Temari in the slightest. "Or I'd hit her too. But I am a gentleman."

"Fucking gentleman you are," Temari grumbled. "You never answered Shikamaru, where's Neji?"

Dan did not seem to hear Temari. He just gazed at Shikamaru with large, glassy eyes. Shikamaru glared right back. Dan folded his hands together across the barrel of the gun and frowned. "The more I learn about you and your family..." Dan whispered, shaking his head and staring at Shikamaru. "...I thought _I_ came from a bad background."

"What do you mean, 'learn'?" Shikamaru watched Dan carefully, confused.

Dan tilted his head to the side, and smiled sadly. "Oh, I can _learn_ everything about those who enter Lee's dreams. They're _my_ dreams too, after all. And you, you occur a lot in Neji's thoughts." He pointed the handle of the gun straight at Shikamaru and said with a touch of amusement, "Boy, Neji sure has issues with you."

Shikamaru stared at Dan wordlessly, and Dan took a step closer. "You got to go to college. He had to stay home. With your dad." Dan set the gun down on a table next to Shikamaru. "What, you don't think Neji had dreams of his own?" he said softly. "But dad needed him..." He pointed to Shikamaru's forehead and hissed, "Where were you?"

"Where is my brother—?"

"—He's _not_ your brother." Dan suddenly leaned in, putting both hands over Shikamaru and meeting eye level with him. "See deep down," Dan whispered, "Neji's just jealous. You could have friends, you could have a life! Him? He knows he's a freak. And sooner or later everybody's gonna leave him. Just like Lee."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked angrily. Temari watched them both closely.

Dan turned away and sat down at the table across from Shikamaru. "You left," he said, setting a hand on his knee. "So Neji did everything he could to please _Shikato_, but _he_ ditched Neji too! No explanation or anything, just _gone_!" Dan spread his arms wide in the air and stared at Shikamaru. "Left him with your sorry ass," he said under his breath.

After a while Dan stood and sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He met Temari's gaze suddenly, and smirked. Still looking straight at her he said, "But this life...It doesn't come without its perks."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Fuck off," she spat.

Dan laughed aloud. "I meet the nicest people!" he said, gesturing to Shikamaru as if sharing an inside joke.

Shikamaru just glared at him and growled, "Ditch Lee and go to hell."

"Oh, no, no..." Dan said, shaking his head contentedly. "No, I think Lee is a permanent home. See Lee, he's really very dedicated to basketball. Never have I ever met someone so set on one thing, I mean it!" He laughed again humbly, patting his stomach with pride. He sighed, ending his chuckles, and said, voice suddenly soft, "But he never got it." He tapped his head. "I mean, so many dreams. So many things he's wanted. All the things he could never get. So he decided to relax, to pretend he can have it all. Pretend he already has it. Just like me."

Dan swept his arms through the air, crying hysterically, "We just wanted to _dream_!" He grinned brightly and said breathlessly "And now look what happened. _You_ three come barging in, unannounced, and try to take over our world. We finally have all we've ever wanted, and _you_ try to take it from us!"

"We're trying to save Lee's life," Shikamaru said loudly. "As well as everyone else's in this town."

Dan shook his head. "You should be able to understand, Shikamaru," he said gently, walking back over to Shikamaru and leaning over him once more. "I mean, if you think about it...All your father ever did was train you to be something you were never meant to be. Boss you around." Dan paused. "And Neji...Neji he doted on. Neji he loved—"

"—Shut your trap," Shikamaru growled. "I mean it."

Dan ignored that. "While you grew up, you tried to be something. You tried to have hope. And he knew all along why you couldn't. But he never told you why, he just crushed all your dreams in his hand. While Neji, the prodigy of his business, oh Shikato adored him. And then when you'd finally had enough, he let you walk right out that door, Shikamaru. And he didn't say a word to stop you or bring you back. What kind of father is that? Does that really say that he loves you?"

"Shut up, you're getting on my nerves," Shikamaru said loudly. Temari stared at him, hand clutching her cuffed wrist.

"Shikato let you go," Dan continued with eyes narrowed straight at Shikamaru's. "And he never warned you about Hiashi. And now, you only have a month left to go, and he's not doing a thing to help." He sighed. "Oh, but I understand why you'd excuse him. Because you're not doing a thing to stop it either, are you?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. Temari bit her bottom lip. Dan went on: "Every time, every single time, you find _some excuse_ to distract Neji from your death." Dan's eyes widened, his lips parted. "Maybe you _want_ to die..." he said as if realizing an axiom.

"You don't know me," Shikamaru snapped.

"Oh, but I do," Dan gasped. "And when it really comes down to it..." He smiled and straightened up. "Your own father never cared whether you lived or died. Why should you?"

That was it. Shikamaru broke free from the ropes at last, jumped up, and slammed a fist into Dan's face, who flew backwards into the table. Shikamaru ran forwards, grabbed Dan's collar and hoisted him up. "My father's an obsessed bastard!" Shikamaru roared, punching Dan in the face again. "I tried my hardest to escape the fucking path he put me on, I did! And all I got was…" He slammed Dan's face into his knee. "_This_!"

Shikamaru pushed Dan, face bleeding, against the wall. "But I know me better than you do," he hissed, breath heaving in anger. "I didn't deserve what he put on me, and _I don't deserve to go to hell_!"

He finally smacked Dan's head backwards into the wall, and let him crumple to the ground. Catching his breath at last, he took a step backwards, staring down at Dan, feeling the blood drip from his fingers. He didn't notice Temari, gazing at him from her spot handcuffed to one of the pipes.

But suddenly Dan's eyes flickered open, and he smiled as he stood up again. Shikamaru's eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards once, staring, appalled, as Dan's mouth opened and he put up a finger.

"But you _are_ going to hell, Shikamaru," he said gently. "You can't escape that." He gestured to himself. His bloody, beaten body, thin and frail. Too dead to be alive.

"You are going to die," he murmured. "And this is what you're going to become."

equilibrium øøø

"I don't know what you mean…" Neji said carefully. "You don't want us to save you?"

"What do you expect?" Lee asked. "You want me to give this up?"

"Give what up?" Neji asked impatiently. For some reason, he felt sick to his stomach.

Lee sighed, and suddenly snapped his fingers. Voices echoed in Neji's head, voices he'd never heard before:

_"And this year's basketball champ…Rock Lee!"_

_"Rock Lee, the world's most renowned basketball player of the century."_

_"And today we have with us Rock Lee, the best basketball champion history has ever known."_

Neji stared at Lee as the voices faded. His head swam and pounded with the echoes. Lee thinned his lips. "Not real," he said simply. "Just like that girl." Neji stiffened at that, and Lee noticed. He smiled friendlily, though, and said, "TenTen, right?" Neji's lips parted. Lee nodded. "She's dead. Isn't she?"

Neji cleared his throat. "How…do you know that…?" he asked softly.

"I know everything about everyone who comes into my head."

"Does that include Dan?" Neji inquired quickly.

Lee's smile widened. "Yes."

"Then you know he's going to kill you in the end," Neji said carefully. "You know that he's slowly sucking the life out of your real body, you know that he did _all_ of this to you?"

"I know," Lee said casually. "And I also know that…Well, how can I let this all go?" He laughed brightly and gestured around himself at the skinny hallway. "This is the same hallway my mother told me that I was going to be the world's best basketball player. But it's prettier. And that girl, TenTen. That was what TenTen looked like, right?" Neji's fists slowly closed around themselves. Lee chuckled. "But she was prettier, wasn't she?"

Lee paid no mind when Neji did not respond. "Everything's better here…" he said. "And I'm not going to give up on it. I mean, every day I win another national championship game, or another award. I make a new girlfriend, a new celebrity agent. I can make a new scenario with just a snap of my fingers." Lee demonstrated by doing so, and they were suddenly in a round crimson room with golden tapestry hanging on the walls.

"Listen, Neji," he said almost pleadingly. "I know what Dan's doing to me. And I know I don't care. Everyone dies, but to me, every day in here is like a lifetime." He tilted his head to the side. "I know a lot, Neji," he said softly. "I know about you, too." He stared at Neji intently. "I know about your father."

Neji swallowed and shook his head. He gripped his rifle tighter. "No," he said angrily. "You don't know jack."

"It's your head as well as mine, Neji," Lee whispered. "You're on my turf now."

"Just listen to me, would you, Lee—"

"—I know everything about you, Neji, don't try to patronize me when I'm as good as you," Lee snapped. He gestured to Neji crudely. "Look at you. You're as mindless and obedient as an attack dog."

"That's not true," Neji muttered.

"No?" Lee paused and frowned thoughtfully. "What are the things that you want? What are the things that you dream?" He looked Neji over. "I mean, your car? That's Shikaku's. Your favorite leather jacket? Shikaku's. Do you even have any original thoughts?" He stopped and scoffed. "No. No, all there is, is 'Watch out for Shikamaru. Look after your little brother, boy.'" He stared at Neji, almost appalled. "You can still hear your dad's voice in your head, can't you?" He tapped his own head mockingly and whispered, "Clear as a bell."

"Just shut up..."

Lee paid Neji no mind. "Your dad knew who you really were. A good soldier and nothing else. Daddy's blunt little instrument."

"Shut _up_!"

Neji didn't know what had gotten to him, all he knew was that at that moment, he wanted to slam this man into the ground. He ran forward and pushed Lee into the crimson wall. The tapestry shook and almost fell to the floor with the force as Neji pressed a hand to Lee's throat. "All that crap Shikaku dumped on me about protecting Shikamaru, that was _his_ crap! He's the one that couldn't protect _my_ dad! He's the one that let _my_ dad die!"

Neji grit his teeth. He could hear his own blood pumping furiously through his body with adrenaline and anger. "He wasn't there for Shikamaru, I always was! He wasn't there!"

Neji pulled his fist back, but in the blink of an eye, literally, Lee was out of his grasp. Neji stared in surprise at the empty space in front of him.

"If you think you're tough," Neji jumped at Lee's voice speaking directly behind him. "You're wrong."

Neji turned around, only to be met with the TenTen-lookalike, standing there holding the gun Neji had been holding before straight at Neji's head. She was dressed in the same scanty outfit from before, and she smiled at Neji. "Good to see you again," she murmured seductively.

"Don't be so modest, Neji," Lee said, taking a few steps backwards and massaging his throat. His eyes were mad with some sort of hidden craving. "Where's that savage energy you had before?"

Neji stared at TenTen, and felt an anger he hadn't had before bubbling into his chest. He had an unusual amount of control, however, and he sent it spiraling to his head, where everything clicked into place.

He felt himself smirk, and said carefully, "There's something about me you've forgotten, Lee," he said quietly.

Lee tilted his head to the side. He didn't believe him, obviously, but he said simply for amusement, "What's that?"

TenTen suddenly swung her arm to the left, and pointed the gun at Lee's head.

"I took the Dream Root too," Neji said.

The bang of the gun woke him with a jolt. He hit his head on the roof of the car, and groaned aloud at the sudden wave of pain that rolled over himself.

But he looked to his left, and saw the light on in one of the rooms of the hospital in the distance. His heart curled around itself tightly when he realized with cold reality whose room it was.

"Sorry, Lee…" he murmured, rubbing his head. Church bells gonged in the distance.

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"Hey, Temari."

Temari looked up she was kneeling in the back of the Impala, packing some last minute essentials away. Shikamaru climbed into the back seat next to her. It was late the next morning, and they were about ready to put the town in their rearview mirror and move on. Lee had died at last, and Dan, who had been attached to his life force, died too from a heart attack on the spot in front of Shikamaru.

Temari turned around curiously and faced Shikamaru. "Yeah." She pulled some hair out of her eyes and noted the seriousness of his expression. The worst part of it was that he was obviously trying to be happy.

He smiled just a bit and avoided looking at her. "I've been doing some thinking, and see...the thing is..." He paused. His eyes traveled off to the distance. To nothing, or to something. The birds chirped merrily from out in the trees. The winter sunlight weakly slipped in through the open car doors.

"I don't wanna die," he whispered at last. The birds sang with him as he added, "I don't wanna go to hell."

Temari gazed at him. Her eyes widened slowly, her lips parted slightly. She waited, to make sure that he didn't want to say anything else. Finally she cleared her throat. "Alright, yeah," she said lamely. "We'll find a way to save you."

Shikamaru turned to look at her, and gave a nervous laugh. "...'Kay, good."

But it was obvious there was nothing good about it. Because Shikamaru could still hear Dan's voice:

_"You are going to die...And this is what you're going to become…"_

Clear as a bell.

26

_**a/n: **_Sorry, this chapter was kind of lame. But I'm sure the extra add of sexy TenTen made the read worth-while. I hope you enjoyed your orgasm. (;

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	27. Agony

equilibrium

27

_No one bites back as hard  
On their anger  
None of my pain and woe  
Can show through_

Ami stepped through the front door of the large abandoned house sitting, dusty and grey, on the side of the empty highway. The shadows of the dark room stretched hungrily towards her approaching figure.

She closed the door on the harsh winter air that swept through the room, lifting the dust into the air in miniature tornadoes. Heels thumping, she stalked over to the large leather bag sitting in the middle of the barren floor, and bent over it.

But as soon as she did so, she saw a pair of legs come to a sudden halt in front of her. She looked up and came nose to nose with a gun.

As she stood up straight, a deep male voice said, "So you're the one who killed her."

Ami stared at Neji, and her darkly painted lips curled upwards.

"Took you long enough."

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Temari figured she should have been walking out into the living room by now, where Neji had been covering. Shikamaru was in the hallway, and had promised to alert her if he heard anything.

She knew it was only seconds before Shikamaru came to get her. She could feel Ami's presence. She knew it by heart. The feeling of someone watching her, of someone hating her. It was all too familiar.

But she couldn't move her eyes from her own reflection.

She was beautiful, but terrifying, even to herself. Her black eyes, like two screaming pools of horror. Her lips thinned, with intentions of massacre. A twisted face, an angry face, of one who had had enough.

The door jiggled with three loud bangs. Temari didn't even flinch as Shikamaru opened it and grabbed her arm. "C'mon," he said sternly under his breath. "She's here, Neji's talking to her."

Temari looked away from the mirror and at Shikamaru. He seemed to recognize some sort of look in her eyes, which were now their usual blue, and paused. "...You okay?" he said carefully.

She nodded, but didn't smile like she usually did. "Let's go. Hurry up."

He nodded, not convinced but understanding the situation. He led the way out of the bathroom and down the hall, towards the living room. As he said, Neji and Ami stood in the middle of the room, face to face. Neji was pointing a gun at her.

Both in the room looked over at Shikamaru and Temari as they entered. They pulled out their guns as well and held them out to Ami warily, who did nothing but enlarge her smile.

Temari didn't like the way Ami stood there. She didn't like the feeling around her. She didn't like the way her eyes gleamed...

Shikamaru had already said that they were walking into a trap. But they didn't know what kind of trap it was, yet...

"Well, would you look at this," Ami said sweetly, voice dripping with malice. "The whole gang's here." She watched as Shikamaru and Temari took slow steps forward, and murmured, "So, what's your secret? How'd you find me?"

"Your truck," Shikamaru answered for the room. "Sounded like a whining growl, didn't it?"

Ami tilted her head to the side. "Ah. I see now."

"A kid helped us out when we were fixing that job that _you_ set up back in Minnesota."

"Oh, Hibbing?" Ami snorted, amused. "That was a fun little town. So, how many people died?"

"'Bout seventeen," Temari spoke up. Ami turned to face her with smirk, and Temari grit her teeth angrily. "What, are you happy about it?"

Ami shrugged. "They were just some hillbilly meat-heads."

"They were still people, no matter how stupid," Temari snapped.

"Oh, what would you know?" Ami said, teeth leering out at Temari. "You're just one more cold-blooded, dark-hearted demon bitch, and it's my job to get rid of you."

"You're still playing that self-proclaimed demon-hunter game?" Temari muttered with a mocking laugh. "You're adorable."

"Oh, it's not self-proclaimed anymore, sweetheart."

Temari paused, suspicious. Ami suddenly shut her eyes tightly, and when they opened again, the other three in the room had to take a step back.

Ami's eyes were black. A dark, swirling, imminent black. A familiar black, the black eyes of someone half human, half evil.

"As I said," she said softly, smiling out at the three hunters who were unexpectedly lost for words, "I'm very real."

Temari stared at Ami, feeling the condescending irritation flood her over. "You traded your own soul..." she gathered in a horrified whisper.

"Well, it was getting to be the only choice," Ami said, arbitrarily defending herself, seeming satisfied with their belligerent reactions. "After failing to kill you so many times, I grasped the opportunity to reach your level, realizing that this was the only way I could truly kill you. Would you like to know how I did this?"

"Enlighten me," Temari growled ignominiously. Her eyes seemed to flash with fury as she said this, and a cold chill swept through the room.

"I found Kabuto," Ami said simply while examining her manicured fingernails.

The song of a late winter breeze rang off of the blinded windows like a hymn as Temari's hands formed fists around her gun.

"It was easy," Ami continued, "to figure out he was the one that helped you out with your little deal. He was the one you summoned, and after a few weeks of searching I finally found out how to do it too."

Ami smirked, feeling Temari's fury. "Oh, don't worry," she said haughtily, "I exorcized the bastard right after we made the deal."

"So you turned into a half demon just to kill me?" Temari hissed.

"Oh, not _just_ to kill _you_," Ami corrected her quickly, holding up one clawed finger. "Have you forgotten my previous accomplishment?"

"That's enough."

Everyone in the room turned to Neji, who suddenly stepped forwards and pressed the barrel of the gun to Ami's forehead. With an irate control over his expression and body, he said resentfully under his breath, "I just have one question before I blast your brains out, half-demon or not."

He ground the gun into her forehead a bit more, enjoying the satisfaction it gave him to hear her struggle. "Why TenTen?"

Ami, ducking under the pressure of the gun, smiled through her discomfort. "Because," she whispered. "She has things to take account for as well."

Neji paused. Shikamaru frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?" Shikamaru said. "So she was holding onto a demon, so what? It wasn't her fault, she was born into it."

"But look what it did to the world," Ami said, painted lips peeling back so she could chuckle in an almost amorous way. "She caused nothing but pain and accidents wherever she went. It even resulted in the loss of her mother."

Ami laughed weakly.

"She was even worse than Temari."

Temari narrowed her eyes, and Ami continued: "Even though she could have ended it any time."

"Only by killing herself," Shikamaru snapped. "And she already tried that, but we stopped her."

"Which is why I'm going to kill you, too," Ami whispered.

Her grin stayed glued to her cheeks madly.

"I'm going to kill all of you…"

"But you didn't even finish the job with TenTen," Temari said angrily. "Why would you tether her spirit down using that spell? Why would you give us the chance to bring her back? Why would you keep her body?"

Ami played with her tight shirt. "Because…" she murmured, and all three in the room could hear the insanity rippling through her…

"…I had to bring you here some way…Temari…"

Temari couldn't find the words, but she wouldn't need them anyways. Neji lunged at Ami before anyone could react, flashing a knife down and trying to cut her throat.

Ami quickly cut him off. She grabbed the knife, twirled around, and slammed Neji into the wall. Holding his arms at his sides she lifted the knife up and brought it in a huge arc down to Neji's throat.

But Temari was there in a flash. Eyes black, she grabbed Ami's arm before it reached its destination, and twisted it harshly. The new half-demon cried out as a dreadfully loud cracking sound echoed around the abandoned building. She hissed, seething in anger, and kicked Temari in the stomach.

Temari was sent tumbling away to the ground, and as she lay there coughing, as Shikamaru helped Neji to his feet and watched helplessly, Ami grabbed the knife, which had fallen to the ground, and stalked over, holding onto her now limp and useless arm at her side.

"I," she whispered darkly, " have had enough of you." She came to a stop next to Temari, who was trying to clamber to her feet. One of Temari's hands was on the ground, and Ami pressed her heel into the back of it, and pushed down hard.

Temari yelled out in pain as the pressure of the heel sank into her hand. Blood poured out of her skin. "You stupid bitch..." Temari hissed furiously through the agony.

"Oh, don't push your luck, sweetheart," Ami growled, kicking Temari harshly in the stomach, letting her roll away. Temari coughed and dragged herself to her feet slowly.

Shikamaru took a step forward at that moment, seeing something changing in Ami's character, but it was too late.

Ami grabbed Temari by the shoulders, and thrust the blade through her stomach.

Shikamaru stopped altogether in surprise. Neji, who had his arm slung around his shoulder for support, tightened his grip on Shikamaru's back.

They watched as Ami let go of the knife, which stayed in Temari's stomach. Temari stood there and coughed once. Her eyes were huge with surprise. Blood trickled from her lips, and almost in slow motion she dropped to her knees on the floor.

Neji was the first to react. He dashed forwards and twisted his arm around Ami's neck, pulling her back and strangling her neck dangerously, before Ami grabbed his arms and pulled free.

As they struggled, Shikamaru felt his legs move of their own accord, first stumbling forwards, then blindly running towards Temari, 'till he skidded to a halt in front of her on his knees, grabbing her before she felt forwards.

Her face was pale. She still looked shocked. The blue was back in her eyes, and her lips were parted almost in confusion.

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Temari...Okay, okay, it's okay...Temari, Temari...Temari, look at me..." He watched as she met his gaze, and chewed his bottom lip. "You're okay, right...? Temari...?"

To his surprise, her lips curled upwards in a small smile. Those perfect, luscious, glistening pink lips he just couldn't keep his eyes off of. Soft-looking...Sweet...Gentle..."Shikamaru..." they said, forming his name perfectly.

And he suddenly knew what she was smiling about, and couldn't help but laugh at it himself. "Yeah, it's me..." he murmured.

Both of them could remember a time when she would be in this position, and he wouldn't move an inch to protect her.

Now, he was on his knees.

"It's me..." he repeated softly, rubbing some blood off of her cheek with his thumb. "It's okay...It's okay..."

She laughed a bit as well, coughing on the blood, giggling at herself and at him.

The moment seemed to last forever as they gazed at each other. They were bruised and bloodied and more tired than anything, and for some reason, they were both so beautiful to each other...

It ended when Ami snapped, "That's enough."

Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise as he was wrenched away from Temari and slammed into the wall. Neji was as well. Temari dropped to the ground on her side. The hand that had been holding onto Shikamaru was still outstretched.

Shikamaru hissed in pain. He found himself unable to pry himself off of the wall. As expected, Ami was tethering them down with her new demonic powers that she'd traded half her life for...

And just so she could kill Temari…This girl was crazy.

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, remembering the situation, and stared at Temari, across from him, lying on the floor. Blood pooled around her, the knife still stuck out of her gut. She was gazing back at him, anxiously trying to hold on.

Shikamaru ground his teeth together desperately. Her eyes were black. She was trying to become stronger by using her demon form, but that would just drain the rest of the energy of her human form out of her. She wasn't going to make it…

She wasn't going to make it…

"No…No, Temari…Temari…!" Shikamaru shouted, struggling against his invisible bonds furiously. He pounded the wall, trying to find some way, any way, to get off. He watched helplessly as Temari gagged on the ground, choking on her own blood. Her eyes never left his. He watched her lips curl into a smile, softly, gently…

"Temari…" he whispered.

He watched the lights go out of her eyes…

Finally, they fluttered closed.

"No…No, no, no…Temari…Temari…" He was breathless, his voice was quiet. He still couldn't register what was going on.

"Shikamaru," Neji said sadly.

Shikamaru looked to the side at his brother. There was a look in his eyes, of understanding...

But no. There shouldn't have been any understanding. This was different. This wasn't TenTen. This was Temari, she was _alive_. She was _always so alive._

But Neji slowly shook his head. Telling him it was time to give up already…

But... But... No. Shikamaru would not accept this.

Ami blocked his view of Temari, her stupid smile still on her fat face. "Finally…" she cried softly. Glee welled up inside of her. "First Temari…Then I'll get rid of you two…And then, I'll kill myself…" She picked up the gun Neji had dropped. "That'll be two less demonic bitches in this world. And two less idiots."

No. Shikamaru would _not_ believe this. There wasn't any sort of ambiguity floating around the room, there wasn't anything to be afraid of.

He needed Temari. He _relied_ on her. She couldn't leave him. Not her.

She was the _last_ person that would ever…

...ever...

"Now…" Ami held the gun up cheerfully. "Who wants to go first?"

"You goddamn ugly whore…" Neji hissed furiously. He ripped his eyes away from Temari. "You had no right to do that to her, _or TenTen, you __**bitch**_!"

Ami giggled, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I guess that'll be you." She took a step towards Neji, loading the gun calmly, and as she did so, Shikamaru saw something behind her…

Temari's eyes had opened again.

That wasn't...right...

But her eyes had been _closed_ before…

Shikamaru stared at her. Her face seemed to regain color.

That was odd. She'd been so pale…

Was she…really…?

His lips formed her name. She blinked in response.

He felt his heart rise in his chest almost instantly. He literally went weak with relief, his entire body went numb briefly with the fantastic feeling of it.

He watched curiously, wondering what the hell was going on, as Temari sat up slowly.

Ami, who had finally finished with the gun and was pointing it directly at Neji's head, paused and glanced at Shikamaru. "What the fuck are you looking at?" she asked dully. "Don't you want to watch your brother's brains fly out of his ears?"

But Neji had seen Temari too. She was slowly, carefully, getting to her feet.

Ami glanced between the two men, then she heard one of Temari's heels clack on the wooden floor.

Ami froze all over. Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head over her shoulder.

Temari stood there. Her face was completely blank, and she was pulling the blood-drenched knife out of her stomach.

Feeling everyone's stares, she looked up. She puckered her lips to one side and wiped the blood on her shirt. "Ouch," she said to break the shaky silence. Her voice was deep, and coated with sarcasm. "That smarts a little…" She held a hand over the bloodied spot on her stomach, the ripped hole in her shirt, and looked up to Ami, smiling. "But, you know. Nothing I can't get over."

"Y…You..." Ami stuttered, terrified. Her hands began to shudder, she even dropped the knife and stumbled backwards a few steps. "You c-c-can't…Th-That's…Th-Th-That's imp-possible…!"

"Heh," Temari let out a small laugh and dropped her head to the side almost observationally. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?"

Ami shrieked in surprise when she was suddenly slammed by invisible bonds against the wall across the room. Shikamaru felt whatever was holding him to the wall disappear, and he and Neji both crumpled to the ground. As he groaned and let Neji help him to his knees, Shikamaru stared at Temari.

She took a few steps forward, still holding the bloody knife in her hands. "I have three pieces of advice to lend to you," she said to Ami, slowly walking towards her. "One; You're going to have to do more than that to kill me." She held up two fingers. "Two; If you want to kill me, _kill __**me**_. _Not_ someone else."

She held up one more finger. "Three…"

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were black.

And this time, the goose bumps didn't go away. The unsettling feeling that rested on Shikamaru's shoulders did not leave him for a second.

"_Nothing_," Temari said softly, "is worse than me…"

Ami gasped, terrified. "You're a _demon_?" she squealed.

Shikamaru and Neji both gazed at Temari in surprise. She came to a stop in front of Ami, who struggled from her spot pressed against the wall, and cracked a smile. "Yes." She held up the knife.

"And you're dead."

"N…_NO_!" Ami screamed, but it was too late. Her voice cut short as the knife entered her chest, slitting her heart and halting her life instantly. She choked on the pain and gagged on the blood that rose up her throat and poured out of her mouth. "P…Please…" she gasped, tears spilling from her eyes.

But Temari just twisted the knife around, and Ami coughed, and collapsed, limp and covered in her own blood and saliva, against the wall.

Temari let her drop to the ground in a pathetic heap.

She turned around to face Shikamaru and Neji, who got to their feet very slowly. She looked to Shikamaru. Her eyes lingered on his face.

Then, they rolled into the back of her head, and she fell the ground.

Shikamaru unconsciously lifted his hands to his shoulders. He felt cold. And scared. And for some reason, the long mute taciturn that swept over the room was more horrifying than anything he'd felt before.

_"This is Hell, Shikamaru." _Hidan's voice rang through his head, clear as a bell._ "You're almost there. You're almost dead already."_

3qu!1!8r!um

When Temari woke next, she was in a much more comfortable position than she'd expected. Opening her eyes, she found she was lying sideways on a shabby bed in a tiny, dusty room. Probably the bedroom to the abandoned house. The smell of smoke wafted through the muggy air.

One of Temari's hands slowly traveled down to her stomach. She felt bandages...

"Neji wrapped you up."

Temari froze at the sound of Shikamaru's voice, and felt a pressure to her left shift; he was sitting next to her head.

"He's good at that kinda stuff." Temari listened to him exhale a sharp breath of cigarette smoke. "But you'd pretty much healed yourself by the time we got to you."

Temari closed her eyes, and her fingers curled into her palms gently. She only allowed her soft breaths to break the silence.

The quiet noise was crushing, like a heavy extra layer of atmosphere, pressing down on her. Stronger than gravity. The scent of smoke was suffocating. The suspense was deafening.

Finally Shikamaru said in a quiet, probing way, "How are you feeling?"

"You can do it."

The words escaped her mouth in an instant. She didn't even have to put them together. They were followed by a short pause, then, "What?"

"You can do it now." She bent her head into her body more. "I won't move. I won't stop you. I promise." She bit her tongue. "Not that you should ever trust a demon. But we don't lie about death...We don't."

She listened to the long gap of noise. Finally, she felt Shikamaru move towards her. She bit her lip, drawing in a sharp breath and halting her lungs momentarily. Her heart beat quickened, and she waited, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing herself not to shake.

She flinched at the feeling of his large, warm hand resting at the base of her neck. It stayed there, still and calm. And it didn't move.

"I already promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you." Shikamaru's hand moved to pull her hair away from her face. "What good would killing you do?"

Temari's eyes opened. She wanted to say to herself that she was surprised, but she knew it wasn't true. She knew he wouldn't kill her. Maybe because he didn't have the guts. Or because she _knew_ him. She knew who he was, she knew the kind of person he'd turned out to be. She knew how much he cared about her.

And that was life...

She curled in around his hand and grasped it angrily. He allowed her to do so, and murmured, "You ready to talk yet?"

She nodded slowly, not letting go of his hand. So he leaned over, pulling it out of her grasp, and helped her to sit up. She let him, and sat here next to him, avoiding his gaze. "So..." Shikamaru sat back a bit, puffing on his cigarette. "You lied to me. Again."

"I _told_ you I wasn't telling you something," Temari snapped, fisting her jeans in her hands furiously but not looking at him. How dare he make it so casual? She'd asked him to kill her, and here he was making it sound like a joke!

"Yeah, yeah..." Shikamaru crossed one leg over the other and sighed. "So you're not a half-demon after all."

"No."

"You're a demon..."

"Yes."

"A...full-blooded...demon..."

"...N...No..."

Shikamaru looked at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Temari sighed. "I was born...a half demon..." she began, almost like she was counting down from a list. "But I had more human blood in me than demon. And when Gaara was sick, when I traded half my soul...Some human blood was still left in me..."

Shikamaru nodded and faced forward again. "That makes sense..." He flicked a spark from the end of his cigarette. "Well, apparently it's pretty deadly, huh? Your real 'demon form', or whatever the hell you'd call it." He stared at his fingers. "You really gave it to Ami..."

Temari looked up at Shikamaru. He glanced at her, and met her gaze unsettlingly. "Do you remember it?" he asked gently.

She nodded quickly, snapping her eyes away from him. "What did you...do with her...?" she murmured, obviously meaning Ami.

"Buried her out back," Shikamaru answered easily. "We'll burn her bones later."

Temari laughed thickly, staring down at her lap. "It's not like it matters," she muttered. "I'm still considered a demon. There's just a little bit of human blood in me..." Her fingers drummed on her thighs.

"...I'm better off dead, just like Ami said..." she whispered. "_I_ should be dead. Not her...and not TenTen..."

There were about five seconds of complete silence that Temari recorded mentally, then:

"_Ouch_!" Temari shrieked, jumping when Shikamaru gave her a quick, painful smack on her arm. She gazed at him, open-mouthed. "What the hell was that for?"

He glowered at her, cigarette sticking out of his mouth cutely. "What the hell was _that_ for?" he demanded disapprovingly. "Talking about killing yourself, and all that 'I'm not good enough for humanity' bullshit, I'm sick of it!"

"Well that's no reason to _hit_ me, you could have just _said_ that!"

"Just saying it to you wouldn't have gotten the point across, you blonde dumbass!"

"Ex_cuse_ me? What does me being _blonde_ have to do with _any _of this!"

"You're dumb, and you're blonde. Doesn't take a genius to find the connection!"

"Oh, what, so you'd rather I be a brunette or something? Would that make me seem smarter to you?"

"Now you're putting too much emphasis on hair. What is it with women and hair?"

"You lousy, slimy sexist _asshole_!"

"Slimy...? What the hell? Where the fuck did that come from? You are so _random_, woman."

"Shut your—!"

"—Um..." Shikamaru and Temari both turned to Neji, who was cracking open the door and sidling into the room. He frowned. "Am I interrupting something?"

"...Not really." Shikamaru sighed, calming himself by sucking a long line of smoke from his cigarette. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were out buying some food, man. I'm hungry."

"I _was_, but I found a friend," Neji said darkly.

"Eh?"

e Q u I l I b R I U m

"He's been following us since Hibbing." Shikamaru and Temari looked into the living room to see a man tied up to a chair by rope, his mouth duct-taped tightly shut. "Said he worked for Ami, and he's here to get revenge for her."

Temari groaned. "Fantastic. What are we supposed to do with him?"

"I already thought about that. Maybe we should do something different than usual," Neji said observantly, leaning against the door frame very seriously. "Something creative. Like...We could stuff him in the ice machine of the nearest drive-in." Shikamaru and Temari stared at him, and he shrugged. "We could put a note of apology in with him too."

"...Did you pay attention at all in school, Neji?"

"No, I did not."

"Guys, grow up," Temari muttered.

"Well more to the point," Neji continued, frowning at her, "_you_ killed our only clue to finding TenTen."

Temari bit her lip. "It wasn't my fault," she said softly, feeling Shikamaru's eyes on her. "I was about to die, so my demon form took over...I can barely control myself when I'm like that..."

"I know, I know..." Neji nodded understandably. "It all worked out for the best, anyways. If this guy really did work for Ami, he'll know where...where she is..."

Neji's voice faded, and Shikamaru cleared his throat. "But I really doubt we'll get the answer out of him, even torturing him. Unless..." He paused, and looked at Temari.

Neji looked at her too, and he rested a fist in his palm. "That's it...!" he said, coming to a realization.

"...What?" Temari asked. Something about the way they were looking at her made her feel very uncomfortable.

"In your demon form..." Shikamaru said cautiously, "you're stronger than me and Neji combined..."

"No." Temari shook her head, backing away from the two men. "No. I already know what you want me to do, and I am not going to do it."

"Temari, it's the only way," Neji said loudly, staring at her evenly. "You can torture him, we can find out where TenTen is, and we can let the guy go! There's no one for him to blab to anymore, so we can let him live!"

"I...I can't, what if I...?"

"Temari..." Shikamaru walked up to her, and she choked on her own breath when he grasped her shoulders firmly. "We need you for this," he said quietly. "I won't let you lose control. I swear."

She stared at him, then stared at her feet. "I need time to think," she said softly.

Shikamaru sighed. "...Alright." He let her go, and watched as she turned away and walked down the hallway. He and Neji turned to look at the man in the chair. They both walked in the room, and Neji closed the door behind him.

Shikamaru gazed at the man. He had long dark hair, and a pair of snake-like eyes with murderous intent swimming in them darkly.

"I'm gonna try talking to him again," Neji said suddenly. Shikamaru watched as Neji walked over and ripped off the duct tape from his mouth, to the yelp of pain from the man.

Shikamaru smirked. "How's that feel, you bastard?"

The man turned to look up at them, panting a bit, and smiled. "Aw, Neji, you brought a friend?" His voice was as oily and slick as his appearance. His eyes dove into Shikamaru's. "The brother, I presume...Shikamaru Nara." He shook his greasy hair from his face. "It's wonderful to meet you, the name's Orochimaru."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "How the fuck do you know our names...?"

"We had a little talk earlier," Orochimaru said, nodding to Neji, who laughed angrily and balled the duct tape up.

"Shut your ugly mouth," Neji snapped. "I don't want you talkin' unless we ask the questions first."

"Oh, but you wouldn't let me finish!" Orochimaru cried, mockingly insulted. He wouldn't take his eyes away from Shikamaru. "I was just going to mention how lucky this child is!"

Neji rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you—"

"—Wait..." Shikamaru cut Neji off, who glanced at him curiously. He took a step closer to Orochimaru. "What the fuck are you going on about?" he muttered darkly.

Orochimaru's smile faltered briefly. "What...?" he whispered with a raspy croak, "...You think I didn't do my homework? Lately, I've been _living_ to research you boys to the best of my ability."

"And what exactly have you found out?" Shikamaru asked under his breath thinly. He could hear Neji slapping the ball of duct tape impatiently behind him, but he didn't care. There was something about this man's eyes...

"...All sorts of things..." Orochimaru slurred thickly. "...Especially about you...I'm surprised you're still alive..."

"Why's that?" Shikamaru hissed edgily.

"Why my sweet, sweet child..." Orochimaru slithered grotesquely:

"You're already half-dead!"

Shikamaru couldn't tell what was suddenly coming over him. A feeling of cold, muted dread. His entire body went numb with the horror and anger that completely washed over his most acute of senses. His mind reeled. What the hell was going on? He'd heard this before. Coming out of an equally disgusting mouth. Was Hidan torturing him?

This agony...it wasn't going away...

"Ah...ha ha..." Orochimaru chuckled to himself croakily, leaning back in his bonds. "I can see it in your pale face..." Shikamaru stared at Orochimaru; on the defense, but practically paralyzed. "You're realizing it now..."

Orochimaru's dark eyes dove straight into Shikamaru's. Black, and angry, and evil...

Shikamaru had seen those eyes before...

_"This is Hell, Shikamaru..."_

"You can see it..." Orochimaru whispered. "Exactly what you've gotten into..."

It was at that moment, that Shikamaru would have snapped. He was on the edge, and he was ready to topple over completely. He was going insane, and he knew it. He was dying. He was crazy. He was in pain, and he wanted it all to end, finally. His torment, his agony...

He would have died, right there.

But the door banged open, and a new pair of dark, black eyes glinted out at the room as all three inhabiting it twisted around to face Temari.

She stood in the doorway. One hand was on her hip. Her entire body, which had been rigid before, was relaxed. Her black eyes gleamed dangerously at Orochimaru, who stared back at her, surprised, his slick grin lost.

"I thought about it," Temari said, taking a few steps forward and shutting the door behind her. "And I came to the conclusion..."

She walked up to Orochimaru, heels clacking on the dirty wooden floor. "It's best if we hold by what we decided on earlier."

Orochimaru scoffed to himself. "Oh, and what's that?" he muttered, clearly not amused by this newcomer.

Temari smiled. "Basically, I'm going to make you regret you were ever born."

She came to a stop directly in front of Orochimaru, pushing Shikamaru out of the way, who stared at her, feeling himself suddenly become calm despite the urgency of the situation. There it was, the same old attitude he was used to. Demonic. And, somehow, very human.

She bent over and stared right into Orochimaru's eyes, her own black ones mirroring his. "Basically, I'm going to make amends for what happened to TenTen," she continued.

Shikamaru felt his lips curl upwards. Neji watched her carefully.

She pressed a finger to Orochimaru's chest. "I'm going to show you what happens when you mess with TenTen," she said darkly.

She grinned. Shikamaru and Neji shared a smirk.

"I'm going to show you how cruel TenTen can be."

27

_**a/n: **_I apologize for the wait. But seriously, I just graduated, so give me a break. Also (and this is even more exciting) I SAW ADAM LAMBERT LIVE! Oh my fucking muffins, it was the SEXIEST experience of my life! He has the _best_ stage presence, it's like he's singing just for you! To add to the gasm, I actually got to participate a legit conversation with Allison Iraheta, _and_ I got a hug from _the _Orianthi!

You're obviously very unhappy that you're not me, so I'll just thank you for reading the chapter, ask you kindly to review and point out any mistakes, and I'll see you next time!

_thanks for reading!_

_maravelous_


	28. Torture

equilibrium

28

_When my fist clenches, crack it open  
Before I use it and lose my cool  
When I smile, tell me some bad news  
Before I laugh and act like a fool_

Neji knew his deduction skills weren't always accurate, but there was definitely something different about Temari. As she straightened up and looked around the room, her very stance had shifted. She was angry. Angrier than anything he'd seen in a while.

As he and Shikamaru watched from the side of the room, she walked over to the window, where beneath there was a small shelf. On it were a few perfumes and scented candles, left behind from whoever had owned the house before it had been abandoned.

"Aw, what are you gonna do?" Orochimaru slurred from the chair he was tied to. "Torture me? That's adorable." He scoffed. "I don't care if you're a demon, you're just a high-class bitch."

Temari did not respond. She simply picked up one of the scented candles and turned it around in her hand. "Hm..." She turned around on the spot and faced Shikamaru. "Throw me your lighter."

"Eh?" Shikamaru obeyed but muttered, "What's that gonna do?"

Temari's reply was simply to light a flame to the candle. Then, eyes gleaming black, she blew a puff of air onto the flame, and at once the entire candle was engulfed in fire. The three men in the room stared on in silence, a silence that was broken by the flickering of the little ball of flame in Temari's palm, who stared at it nonchalantly like it was a small mouse.

Finally, she blew the fire out, so all that was left was scorched glass, filled with melted candle wax. Temari walked over to Orochimaru at last and opened her mouth to speak, while chucking Shikamaru's lighter back to him over her shoulder.

"I have a slightly different approach to torturing, you may find," Temari said. Her voice was laced with mocking sarcasm, and as Orochimaru sat in the chair grimacing up at her, she grabbed his hair and wrenched his head back. He coughed with the strain, but it wasn't nearly as painful as what came next.

Temari took the boiling hot, melted wax, and, holding Orochimaru's left eyelids apart, tipped the wax over his eye.

Shikamaru and Neji both stiffened in shock, and Orochimaru's screams filled the room. Soon enough the other two men had to look away, but Temari just stared on with a stony smirk on her face, pouring the liquid hot wax into Orochimaru's open eye.

She allowed Orochimaru to squirm in the chair, howling at the top of his lungs, but she didn't stop pouring the wax over his eye until the glass candle-holder was empty. She then threw it over her shoulder and leaned down over Orochimaru, who sat there whimpering grossly. The wax was now starting to harden over his left eye.

"That's my technique," Temari murmured, voice sweet and innocent as if she'd just accidentally stepped on a ladybug. "I show you what I'm made of." She rested a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. "I show you that I'm not fucking around."

"You…Evil _bitch_…!" Orochimaru spat out, but his voice shook with agony and terror.

Temari gave a short bark of a laugh. "That's what they call me." She slapped the side of Orochimaru's head lightly as if regarding a close friend. "Now. How about you tell me where TenTen is, and I'll kill you short and painless, sound like a plan?"

Orochimaru's breath hitched. "…I don't know where she is…" he said darkly, panting with painful breaths. Blood was beginning to seep beneath the hardened wax covering his eye.

Temari thinned her lips. "You don't. Aw. That's a shame." She stood up and walked over to the same shelf again. She picked up a bottle of perfume and turned it around between her fingers. "Maybe if I try pouring this in your other eye, maybe then you'd remember—"

"—No, fine, I know!" Orochimaru cried furiously. "You stupid bitch, I give in! I know!"

Temari tilted her head to the side and put down the bottle of perfume. "You do? Fantastic, let me know."

Orochimaru stared at her with his one eye, his chest heaving. "She's…She's in Lawrence, Kansas…"

Shikamaru and Neji both stiffened. Temari glanced at them, and Neji cleared his throat. "That's our hometown," he said softly, nodding to himself and Shikamaru. "That's where we were born…"

Temari narrowed her eyes and turned to Orochimaru. She suddenly dragged a knife out of her back pocket and stepped up the man tied to the chair, leaning over him. "You probably think you're adorable, don't you?" she hissed to his face. "You probably think you're so clever."

She took the knife, and thrust it into Orochimaru's shoulder. He hollered out in pain, but Temari didn't stop there. She grasped the blade, still stuck in his shoulder, and pulled down. It sliced through his skin like it was going through butter. Blood splashed onto the ground and onto the wall, covering Temari's hands.

"Okay! Okay! Sh-She's in Michigan! Clawson, Michigan! That's where she is, I swear!"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Clawson?"

Orochimaru's free eye opened up in disdain, and Temari yanked the knife out of his shoulder, and suddenly dragged it along his chest. He hissed when she cut the skin, drawing a circle around the area on his chest where his heart would be. The blood stained his shirt, which she ripped through easily.

"Are you sure?" Temari said silkily as he gasped in discomfort. "Are you absolutely positive?"

Orochimaru nodded his pale, sweaty face. Temari stood up and turned to Shikamaru and Neji. Neji frowned. "She…She used to live in a town near Clawson…" he said uncertainly, still unable to take his eyes off of Orochimaru's bloody, beaten form. Shikamaru was watching Temari closely. "It would make sense for Ami to put her there."

Temari nodded shortly and turned back to Orochimaru. "Very nice," she said softly as he panted on the chair. "You contributed more than I thought you were."

"What…do I get…in return…?" Orochimaru hissed ferociously.

Temari tilted her head to the side, then said simply:

"Hell."

And with that, she slid the knife into his ribs.

As Orochimaru shuddered away into death, and Temari straightened up and turned around, she noticed Shikamaru and Neji's stares.

She shrugged, black eyes gleaming in the weak fluorescent lights. "He was going to die anyways," she said calmly. "I just put him out of his misery."

I need to wash my hands," beneath her breath.

ɯnıɹqılınbǝ

Temari knew it was coming. It took an hour, but it came nonetheless. The door to the bedroom opened, and Neji came inside.

She sat there, back to him, listening to him close the door behind him, his heavy footsteps approaching. She was on the bed, hands on her knees. Just sitting there. Watching the blood caked beneath her fingernails.

"How do you feel?" Neji asked as he sat on the bed beside her. His voice wasn't scolding, or sad. More or less, he was curious, and that was what made him so frustratingly human.

Temari sighed. She turned to glance at him, then twisted back to staring at the wall. After the demon blood in her had calmed down, she was feeling guilty, and had a terrible headache, but she murmured, "Fine."

Neji seemed to know she was lying, but didn't comment on it. He just sat there in silence, watching the wall in front of them.

"Is he afraid of me?"

Neji glanced at Temari. She looked at him. "Shikamaru," she explained quietly. "Does he not want to see me anymore?"

Neji's gaze softened. "He's not afraid of you," he assured her. "And he's certainly not avoiding you. I was actually the one keeping him from talking to you. He wouldn't shut up, he kept saying you needed him, but I made him go out and buy us a couple beers. We're running out."

Temari raised an eyebrow when she noticed him holding up two bottles. "Speaking of which, do you want to take care of the last two for me?"

Temari cracked a tired smirk. "You always know what to say," she said, taking one of the bottles.

Neji laughed contentedly, opening his. They both took a swig and sat there letting the liquid warm their stomachs. Neji sighed. "Shikamaru's really worried about you, though," he said conversationally.

Temari scoffed. "He should be worried about himself," she muttered, but the sad gleam in her eye couldn't escape Neji's vision.

Neji nodded slowly. "I agree, but…" He smiled a bit. "That doesn't mean there's not enough worry to go around." Temari raised an eyebrow at him, and Neji shrugged. "It just means that he cares about you. And that's a good thing, he needs someone like you."

Temari shook her head, fingering the neck of her beer. "No," she said sharply. "I'm not even a person, I'm not even _human_."

Neji stared at her. "You have human blood in you," he said seriously. "And from what I've seen, that's stronger than anything."

Temari turned to gaze back into Neji's eyes, and felt her heart warm just by the calm cloudy glaze in his eyes. "Neji…" she said softly. "…TenTen is one lucky girl…"

Neji blinked in surprise, but chuckled a bit. Temari smiled and turned to look at the wall. "You know, if I ever try to be human, I try to be like her," she said gently. She giggled under her breath. "I can still see her. Blowing a bubble with her gum, eating sandwiches from the police station…" Temari and Neji shared a small laugh, both of them staring at the wall together.

As if they could really still see her.

"She was so…human…"

"Temari…"

Temari blinked and turned to Neji. "Hm?" She noticed a new look in Neji's eyes. A troubled look. A determined look. "…What's wrong…?" she added.

Neji suddenly stood up. "…Promise me something…" he said quietly, not looking away from her for one second.

Temari stared at Neji in surprise. "...Anything…"

"Take care of Shikamaru."

They gazed at each other for a few seconds.

"I…I will…"

And with that Neji left the room, leaving Temari confused and alone with her beer.

equilibrium øøø

"Holy mother!"

When Shikamaru came back inside, he had a large case of beer tucked under his left arm, and a small grocery bag under the other. He was slamming the door against a large gust of wind, and Temari looked up at him from her spot on the sofa.

Shikamaru turned back to her and made a face. "It's fucking freezing out there!" he exclaimed. "I think it's gonna storm soon. I thought I was gonna get hypothermia or…Hey, what's up?" He noticed the look in Temari's eyes. He looked around the empty living room of the small abandoned house. "Where's…Where's Neji…?" he said.

"Shikamaru…" He turned back to Temari curiously. She stared at him with a troubled look in her eyes. "Neji's gone…"

Shikamaru frowned. He set the bags down on the ground and walked closer to Temari. "What the hell do you mean, gone?" he demanded.

She didn't look away from him warily. "I came down to check on him, and he wasn't here. But he left me a text message…"

"Well where did he go?" Shikamaru asked urgently. "What did he say?"

Temari shook her head. "He left to go find TenTen," she said carefully. "And he's not letting us follow him."

eqυιlιвrιυм

Neji stared down at the flat grey stone, nestled among the grass. The midnight sky sailed overhead, thunder rolling deeply in the distance.

Neji cleared his throat. "Hey mom," he said softly down to the stone. His voice was hoarse. "I know I haven't come to see you since dad passed away, but...But I was in the neighborhood, and I just thought I'd stop by."

He looked around himself at the empty graveyard. The trees loomed eerily overhead. The wind, carrying the stench of the impending storm, lifted goose bumps on his arms.

"I'm...I'm on my way somewhere," he continued, looking back down at the stone. His mother's name stared blankly back up at him. "And I..." He coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it's not like you'd know about...the kind of things I do..."

Neji thinned his lips. "It just makes me think...What would happen if I'd never become this?" He inhaled sharply. "But I know what would happen."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets roughly. "All of 'em," he muttered darkly to the grave. "Everyone dad saved, everyone Shikaku saved, everyone Shikamaru and I saved, every single one of 'em would be dead right now..."

He shook his head furiously. "Mom, I don't understand. It's like something's following me or something, like a curse, it doesn't want me to be happy..."

He paused, frowning. "Of course, I know what dad would say...Well, not my real dad..._Shikamaru's_ dad. He'd tell me to go hunt some evil sons of bitches down, and...Well, that's what I _should _be doing! My curse doesn't matter. I mean, my happiness for all those people's lives? No contest."

He nodded to himself, gritting his teeth. "But why?" he whispered. "Why is it _my _job to save these people?" He fisted his hands in his pockets. "Why do _I_ have to be some kind of hero?"

He felt his eyes burn with tears, slowly brimming. "What about us, huh? What about you? I never even met you..." He sniffed sharply. "Is Shikamaru not allowed to live his life? He had to give up _Harvard_ for _me_! Is my own _father_ never supposed to see me grow up...?"

His voice faded away. A single tear escaped, trickling slowly down his cheek. "It's not fair..." he gasped. Thunder rumbled in the background as he shook his head. "Why do we have to sacrifice everything, mom?"

He stared at the grave. A single tear splashed onto it, and he mumbled, "Yeah..."

He ran a large hand over his face, wiping off some of his accumulated tears, and with that he turned around and walked away into the forest of graves, in the darkness of the cemetery, as raindrops mourned from the storm clouds above. He was on his way somewhere. He didn't have any more time to waste on the dead.

єqυιℓιвяιυм

"No, no, this is fine…this is fine…"

Temari raised an eyebrow and wondered if Shikamaru had finally had enough beer. After about half an hour of fretting and throwing tantrums over Neji's unexpected disappearance, he was suddenly surprisingly calm. "This is…fine…?" she asked cautiously, sitting down next to him on the battered sofa he'd punched about fifteen times in his frustration.

He glanced at her, and there was no drunken glaze in his eyes; he was serious. "Yeah, we can deal with this…" he said, calming his angry breaths. "I mean…" He leaned back, massaging his temples and fidgeting with his empty beer bottle. "Neji can handle himself, and he's already on a good enough lead to where TenTen is…" He closed his eyes. "Besides, it's more efficient to just split up and do them at the same time, anyways."

"…Do what at the same time…?" Temari asked unenthusiastically. She still didn't quite understand what was going through his mind, but then again the fondness she had for him often overwhelmed her understanding of him anyways.

Shikamaru gave her a shrug and said as if it was obvious:

"Well we're gonna turn you human, aren't we?"

Temari's mouth fell open and temporarily she was speechless, before she stuttered, "A-Are you high?" Shikamaru tilted his head to the side as if contemplating that but Temari didn't have time for his jokes. "You dumbass, don't even kid about that, it's not possible."

"I'm not kidding!" Shikamaru cried defensively. "We already know the spell, the one your dad was using to get your grandpa back, the one Neji's using to bring TenTen back…If we can use it on you, then maybe—"

"It's not the same thing!" Temari snapped. "The only reason I look alive right now is because I'm filled with demon blood."

"Then…" Shikamaru said with a shrug, "We'll just have to drain it out of you."

Temari stared at him, mouth agape. Now she was second guessing whether he was really drunk or not. "Shikamaru's that's impossible."

"I'm smarter than you," Shikamaru said seriously. Temari scowled at that, and he smiled. "Come on," he said, watching her. "You admitted it yourself. What have you got to lose?"

Temari had to agree with him on that part, but she still wasn't quite convinced. Shikamaru seemed to realize this, and he frowned at her. "Temari," he murmured darkly. She avoided his eyes, but his deep voice pierced her just as powerfully:

"You promised you'd do _anything_."

She looked up at him. Met his dark gaze, and closed her eyes.

"I know."

28

_**a/n: **_Have I ever said how much I love you guys? I was going through all your reviews again while playing Kansas's Dust in the Wind on repeat and thinking over how much I want to kill Sarah McLaughlen for making everything so sad, and you made me want to get up and start dancing to Thriller. You rock my socks. This one's for you.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! I'm _so _sorry I haven't updated in so long. But I promise I'll try more often! College isn't easy, and I've made a ton of friends that actually give me a bit of social life (I know, it's fucking weird), so I don't have much time. However, I've had a recent spurt of enthusiasm and decided to finish this up.

Another chapter of MonStar is coming soon as well! Look forward to it!

maravelous


	29. Angels

equilibrium

29

_If I swallow anything evil  
Put your finger down my throat  
If I shiver, please give me a blanket  
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat_

Temari was crying.

This was a curious thing to Shikamaru. She didn't cry much. No, Shikamaru was the crybaby, not her. She didn't feel enough to cry. At least not that much. Only sometimes. Only when it hurt the most.

Which said a lot about the situation she was in now.

She wasn't sobbing. She wasn't weeping. But tears spilled out of her eyes nonetheless and ran down her face, off her cheeks in a stream and dripping onto the bed sheets beneath her where she lay on her back. Both her arms were held spread out to the side. She stared at the ceiling. Drenched in blood.

Shikamaru watched her from the corner of the room, a sickening feeling still lingering in his gut. He hated seeing her like this. More than anything, this was the worst thing he'd done to her, and he'd done so much…

There she lay on the bed in the middle of the room, just gazing up, not blinking, expression blank as ever. Shikamaru could still remember the light in those eyes, gone now. Her arms lying out to her sides were each hanging halfway off the bed, palms up. And they were slit from the inner-elbow to the tips of her palms.

Under each of her arms were bowls. Temari's blood was dripping steadily into them. At first Shikamaru had winced at the disturbing dripping noise that this had created, but now, after an hour of this, he was used to it. The bowls were only half-way full. They were black ceramic bowls, with charms and spells engraved into the sides of them. The blood, dark and black and eerie, swirled around inside of them, gleaming from the lights.

And on the floor surrounding the bed Temari lay on was a gigantic charm drawn in blood, the strange star design in a circle, tiny details surrounding it. Shikamaru gazed at it. Temari could not escape that circle. Not as long as she was a demon.

The door to the small bedroom they were in suddenly opened, and Shikamaru got to his feet in a flash to greet the silver-haired man that entered.

"Kakashi," Shikamaru walked over briskly as Kakashi closed the door behind himself and faced Shikamaru. "You got it?"

Kakashi nodded. "Took me about an hour, sorry. But it's all here." He held up a large jug of a thick, red liquid; blood.

Shikamaru nodded slowly, staring at it and throwing the disgust back down his throat. "Great. Where did it come from?"

"I don't think you should ask that question," Kakashi said with a grim smile, walking over to the corner Shikamaru had been sitting in before and setting down the jug. He straightened up and gave Shikamaru a dark look:

"Human blood isn't very easy to come by."

Shikamaru nodded sourly, and Kakashi cracked his knuckles, turning to look at Temari. "Still not moving, huh?"

"How much longer?" Shikamaru asked quietly, staring at Temari as well. She didn't seem to notice he was talking. Nothing changed in her face, not a muscle moved. He couldn't even see her chest rising. Of course she never needed to breathe, she was a demon. But he wanted to see it. He wanted to hear it…

"A couple more hours," Kakashi said, crossing his arms thoughtfully as he observed the blonde. "Maybe longer."

Shikamaru groaned under his breath. "I don't like this. It's like she's not even in there."

"That'll happen," Kakashi said. "Just give her time. It takes a while to drain all of the demon blood out of a person. I've only done it once myself."

"Is it really that painful?"

"It's the most painful thing she's ever felt, that's for sure." Shikamaru grit his teeth and exhaled shakily, and Kakashi sighed. "You knew what you were getting yourself into," he reminded Shikamaru. "When you called me down here you sounded so damn sure of yourself. Don't get shaky on me now, boy."

"It just pisses me off, seeing her like that," Shikamaru hissed, shaking his head. He slid down the wall next to Kakashi and drew his knees up, resting his hands on them. He watched the motionless woman with grief. "I knew that you've done this before, that's why I called you down here. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad you came, especially so quickly at such short notice. And I trust you. But I still don't understand…How exactly does this shit work?"

Kakashi glanced at Shikamaru. "Well, she still has human blood in her. But not enough. So while we drain the demon blood out of her, we have to also give her enough human blood to keep her alive."

"So we have to make her drink it," Shikamaru gathered.

"Straight up."

Shikamaru repressed a shudder. "This is sick," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "If she doesn't even react when we talk to her, how're we gonna make her drink fucking blood?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Don't ask me kid. Last guy I did this to we made 'im guzzle the entire thing down, and he almost choked to death."

Shikamaru made a frustrated, strangled sound, and Kakashi shook his head. "Cool it. This is for the better, ya know. And I have experience. I know what I'm doin'."

"I hope she'll be alright…" Shikamaru murmured.

3qu!1!8r!um

Neji pulled his wet hair from his face. The rain pounded down on him as he kneeled in the mud of the secluded crossroads of Crooks and Meijer in Michigan. Thunder rumbled in the distance, as thick, dark storm clouds rolled through the sky viciously, tumbling over each other. The Impala sat off to the side of one of the roads, and other than that Neji was only surrounded by miles and miles of empty, rolling fields of corn and wheat.

"Pull it together," Neji hissed to himself under his breath, barely able to hear himself through the crashing downpour. He was holding a knife over his arm, the sleeve rolled up to his elbow to expose his pale flesh. Without hesitation, he pressed the blade into his skin, breaking it so blood could pour out. He didn't even flinch, instead he immediately coated the tip of one of his fingers in his blood, and began to draw on a black slate he was holding onto the ground. It had a spell engraved into it, and Neji was drawing a charm on the bottom.

Next to his right knee was a small black bag. When he finished drawing the charm, he took it and set it in the center of his new creation, not bothering to cover his fresh wound while he was at it. Then he proceeded to take a lighter from his pocket.

He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. This had to work. This was all he had. This _had_ to work.

His eyes snapped open, and he narrowed them with determination. He lit a fire, and held it to the bag.

Automatically, despite the rain, the bag was illuminated in a white-hot glow. Neji darted backwards so as not to catch any of the sparks, and watched, slowly getting to his feet, as the bag hissed and smoked.

For a while, nothing happened. The only sounds Neji could hear were the steady beat of the rain, the distant grumbling of thunder, and the flickering of the fire.

Then, there was a sound he couldn't mistake.

A rustling and churning split the white noise around him. Neji's eyes widened as the smoke rising from the burning bag became stronger. It condensed and grew larger, and before Neji's gaze it slowly turned into the shape of a dragon.

The shape of _the_ dragon.

Tenten's demon.

Neji felt a grin of triumph come to his face as he faced the black, swirling creature, its wings opening, spreading wide and threatening.

"Nice to see you again."

e Q u I l I b R I U m

"NO! NO, NO NO! MOM, I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

Shikamaru buried his head further into his arms.

"STOP! YOU DON'T HAVE TO! STOP, MOM, STOP!"

But her screams could still be heard, no matter how he clenched his ears shut or squeezed his eyelids together.

"DON'T! NO MORE! DON'T DO IT! DON'T—Ahh…S-Stop…No, please…"

The gagging, choking, sobbing, yelling…Her voice was drawn in agony and terror. She was shrieking, weeping, begging and moaning. It was the worst thing he'd ever heard. So much pain and fear. And then she'd cough and splutter as Kakashi fed her more and more blood, and she lost more and more sanity…

"Damn it…" Shikamaru whispered.

"Shikamaru, for shit's sake _help me_!"

Shikamaru peered over his knees, his face contorted with guilt. He didn't want to, but he could see Kakashi holding a struggling Temari. Her eyes were closed, but tears flooded out of them. Blood covered her face, as Kakashi attempted to pour more of it down her throat while she squirmed and screamed.

"I can't do it…" Shikamaru whispered, staring. "God…She's hurting, I just…I can't…" He shook his head helplessly and hid his face once more, trying to distract himself from the painful shrieks.

Kakashi groaned in exasperation and continued, only from what Shikamaru could hear.

"Mom…Mom…Please…Help me…Oh god…Help me…Someone help me…Shikamaru…"

He froze.

"Shikamaru…Help me…Make it stop…Please make it stop…Shikamaru, please…I need you, Shikamaru…"

His heart hurt. He didn't know it could hurt this much. It ached. His eyes were huge. He couldn't move, he felt numb. And he was so, so angry at himself, he could just…

"Oh for god's sake."

Shikamaru blinked and looked up reluctantly. Kakashi stared at Shikamaru. "Kid, you should just get the hell out of dodge."

"Wh…N…No…" Shikamaru mumbled, still not quite able to find his bearings.

"Shikamaru, you're not gonna be able to function while you're watching this," Kakashi insisted, holding Temari up and rubbing her arm as reassuringly as he could while she wept into his shoulder. "You tried hugging her, that didn't work, you tried talking to her and comforting her, that didn't work, and now you're trying to cower in a corner. Well that's not gonna help anything, and let me tell you it isn't going to any time soon." Shikamaru looked away, trying to control his breathing. "I'm sorry," Kakashi continued, "but she's not _here_ right now. She can't here you."

"Then tell me what to do!" Shikamaru yelled, twisting around to face Kakashi furiously. "I can't just let her keep on like that. It's killing her!"

"No, it's not. It's killing _you_," Kakashi said sternly. Shikamaru stared at him, openmouthed and angry, but the realization slowly settled into him and he closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands.

"Leave," he heard Kakashi say. "It'll be better for you. Trust me."

"But Temari…"

"I'll stay with her. I'll make sure everything gets done the way it's supposed to, promise." Shikamaru looked up at Kakashi. "Get out of here," he insisted. "I'll take care of her."

ɯnıɹqılınbǝ

It was just the same as it had been last time.

Neji was fifteen miles south in the little town of Clawson, Michigan. The city where he'd first met Tenten. And nothing had changed.

It was drenched in rain, and dark and empty. But it was the same.

Neji parked the Impala in front of the house on Oakland street. The tiny little flat. No lights on. The grass was overgrown. Newspapers were piled up on the porch. Weeds tangled around the foundation.

Tenten's house. They hadn't been there in so long. He smiled a bit through his heavy depression, remembering the first time he'd met her. He'd lied to her, and she saw right through it so easily. Then he saved her life, there in her kitchen. Asked her to join them. That was when she fell in love with him, he knew now. When he looked into her eyes, told her he didn't want her to kill herself, told her to do what _he _said. He'd given her something only her mother had before.

He jolted when he felt a terrible pain twang his heart, and he groaned and clutched his chest. He bent his head down so his forehead could touch the steering wheel and allowed the grief to wash over him. "Damn it…" he whispered, as the rain outside tapped lightly against the windshield. "Tenten…"

He smiled though, allowing a single tear to fall from his face. It hurt so bad. But it meant so much. "Love is really painful…" he murmured, laughing under his breath.

And with that, he grabbed the bag from the seat next to him, and exited the car. Taking care to be discreet, he ran through the rain up to the tiny porch. He tested the door; it was unlocked. He narrowed his eyes; Ami had been here.

He cracked the door open. The dim, grey-blue light from outside swept into the dust of the home immediately, and showed to Neji that it was completely empty. So he walked inside, and closed the door.

He pulled the blinds on the window, letting the light flood in, and sighed, looking around the miniature living room. He could recall the loveseat, the Chinese ornaments, the mats on the floor and the coffee table. All were gone now, leaving behind only dust and cheap wooden floors. Neji made his way through the room, and into the kitchen. This room, too, was empty. He lit a flashlight from his pocket and flashed it around, just to make sure. Nothing was there. The house was eerily silent, only creaking every so often with the wind.

Setting the flashlight on the top of one of the bare counters to light the room, Neji then got to work. He pulled out first, very gingerly, something large and round, about the size of a basketball. It was wrapped in a thick cotton cloth, and when Neji removed it, it was exposed to be a glass ball. Inside it was swirling around black smoke. It billowed and lashed against the sides of the glass, as if trying to escape. And it was.

Neji stared at it. "Sorry," he said to the demon. "I know you probably like being free. But I need to do this. You liked Tenten, didn't you? I mean, everyone did." Neji sighed, watching the glass ball. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

Neji set the ball on the counter, and removed the rest of his supplies. The black slate with the spell and charm. A long, thin white bone. And, lastly, an empty Tic-Tac's container.

Neji held this object fondly in his hands as he set the slate on the counter next to the ball. The last thing Tenten had eaten. The last thing she'd touched…

Pushing the thoughts out of his head, Neji picked up the bone and rubbed it against the container. "Let's make this rabbit's death mean something," he muttered to himself as he finished with the Tic-Tacs container. He put it down on the slate, pulled out his lighter and held it to the tip of the bone, and finally, lit it.

The bone caught fire instantly. Neji frowned and held it up. He knew the drill. He'd read it about fifty times by now, just to be sure he was doing this correctly. Before the entire bone began to disintegrate, he had to see if the flame was white, or orange. If it was orange, then the spirit he was looking for wasn't there. If it was white…

Neji concentrated. This wasn't easy to do. The flame kept switching colors, back and forth, back and forth. He'd read that sometimes it took a while to find the spirit. But it was just so frustrating…

"Come on…" he whispered. The tip of the bone was turning to ash and crumbling to the floor as the flame inched further and further down the bone. Orange, white, orange, white…

Neji grit his teeth. This had to work. Tenten couldn't be anywhere else, but he had to make sure. There was no other way of knowing. There were no other leads.

"Come on, come on, come on…" Neji groaned. His eyes followed the flame. His nose was inches away from it. He didn't blink.

And then, the color stayed.

Neji gazed at it. Waited a few seconds to make sure. No, this was solitary. This was certain.

This was real…

Neji's eyes widened.

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Shikamaru didn't consider himself weak. But he had never before been so pissed at himself for running away from something.

But he'd had time to think about it as he took Kakashi's advice and went out into the sprinkling rain outside of the abandoned house to pull himself together, and he'd decided that it didn't matter right now. He had to stop thinking about himself when Temari was in this mess.

Because it was always about her, wasn't it?

Shikamaru smirked exasperatedly to himself as he climbed the stairs up to the bedroom in the house, tossing aside his soggy, used cigarette. He knew the worst that could happen. He could mess up, get her killed. But that was just the risk he'd had to deal with since he'd first met her, since she'd first slapped him in the face.

He was willing to take that risk if it would make her happy, because she'd already taken that risk so many times…

He was a crybaby. She was right. And he knew that she could understand it too; he was _her _crybaby. _She _was the one he wanted to cry into right now. _She _was the one he wanted to hold him. And there were _no_ excuses for not doing that.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. She wasn't escaping him. Not today. Not ever.

He reached the bedroom, and opened the door.

He froze.

Kakashi lay on the ground just in front of the door in a bloody heap. He was curled around himself, but not moving, and Shikamaru knew that he had been in immense pain from the way his fingers were bent and the way his face was tucked into his chest.

For a second a cold fear crept up Shikamaru's back, but then he saw Kakashi's back rise and fall gently, and warm relief spread over him; he was still alive. Just unconscious. And judging by the way the blood only came from his head, he only had a broken skull, which wasn't fatal unless too much blood was coming out, and there wasn't.

And so his gaze darted to Temari.

He cursed. She wasn't on the bed anymore; she was lying slumped over at the edge of the circle on the ground. Her hands were covered in blood.

"Temari…" Shikamaru whispered. He jumped over Kakashi and ran forwards, kneeling down in front of her and hoisting her up. Her eyes were closed, and she was limp in his arms. He frowned and brushed her hair from her face. "Temari, hey…"

He pressed his fingers to her neck. No pulse.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, dread filling his chest. "Come on, hold on," he hissed, hands tightening on her shoulders as he opened his eyes again.

She was beautiful, he realized, even covered in blood. Her hair was soft, her pink lips parted only slightly. He was reminded for the second time of the day he first saw her asleep.

The only thing missing was the teal-blue of her eyes.

His gaze was caught by her lips. He wondered for the hundredth time how one woman could be so gorgeous. How one woman could drive him so crazy. How one woman could make him go so far that right now, he'd kill himself to see those eyes one more time.

He couldn't tell what he was thinking when he leaned forward to kiss her. His mind was too clouded. But her lips felt nice pressed to his, they felt right. And her arms working around his neck, even nicer…

…Wait…

His eyes snapped open, and he parted from her, staring, waiting hopefully.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Shikamaru gave a relieved laugh, grinning happily. "Wow…" he whispered as she stared at him, seeming confused. "Talk about sleeping beauty…"

Temari blinked. "Wh…what…? Wait, am I…?"

Shikamaru scanned her over as she clumsily hoisted herself to her knees. She seemed…different. She was rosier. Her skin glowed more, she was less pale.

He slowly raised his fingers to her neck. She twitched in response but allowed the contact. He pressed them there and held them. And soon enough, a pounding beat could be felt beneath her skin; Temari's heartbeat. He felt his own pulse race to catch up to hers, and they both felt the synchronized rhythm together, in awe.

"Temari…" Shikamaru gasped. "You're…"

Temari opened her mouth wordlessly. Then suddenly Shikamaru heard a little squeal he never would have guessed would come out of her mouth as she slammed them both into an excited hug.

He laughed though, holding her close as she cried, voice muffled by his jacket, "It fucking _worked_!"

"Yeah, it did," he said giddily. "You're human." He ran a hand up and down her back, the other pulling her tight against him. The relief he felt could not be compared to anything else. He felt happy; like the world's problems had been solved. He couldn't wipe that stupid grin off his face.

"I can't believe it!" Temari continued to squeal. "I can smell!"

She suddenly lifted her head, then pressed her face into Shikamaru's neck. He stiffened in surprise as she inhaled deeply. "You smell…" she murmured.

"…Like smoke?" he guessed uncertainly, a small playful smile on his lips.

"No." He felt her lips form a smile of their own against his neck. "I don't know what you smell like. But I like it."

He rolled his eyes. "It's probably smoke. And I don't recommend it. That, or sniffing me like a dog."

"Shut up, you piece of shit," Temari snapped haughtily. "Let me celebrate. You're the first thing I get to smell." She paused. "And see…And feel…And…"

He watched the top of her head, then said softly, "Wonder how I taste…"

Temari looked up at him, curiosity in her gaze, but not for the taste. For the meaning hidden in his words. Their eyes met, but then she kissed him, and he closed his again. Their lips moved against each other's slowly as she tightened her arms around his neck, like she'd never let him go. His hand pressed into the small of her back, the other settling into her hair on the back of her head, pulling her lips closer to his.

It was a short and clean kiss, but so passionate that Temari was close to being breathless when she parted. Their hearts were pounding together in a syncopated pulse as she whispered, "Nice…You taste nice…"

He smiled at her fondly, then blinked. "Oh!"

"…Huh?" She watched as he grinned down at her. "That reminds me. How would you like to taste chocolate for the first time?"

Temari beamed. "Yes!"

He smiled, then frowned. "Uh, first we should wake him up…"

A silence, then…

"Oh my _god _I killed Kakashi!"

"No, haha, no, you didn't…But if only you had…"

"_I'm…awake…you asshole…_"

"…Oh. Good."

eqυιlιвrιυм

Every time he closed his eyes he could hear Tenten's voice.

Neji had been deciding for a while whether he should ignore her, or listen for her. He didn't know what was better for him. He'd actually been trying to decide that when she was still alive. Since he'd first met her, he wanted to know how to get the best out of her.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered for the millionth time to the glass ball he held in front of himself. The demon inside was still struggling, and Neji's gaze did not move from it. But Neji wasn't talking to the demon. "You're almost smarter than Shikamaru, " he continued sadly. "Everything you ever said to me was _right_. You've only ever had my back. And I never thanked you for that." He let out a shuddering breath. "So I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry I never told you how I felt."

Neji didn't know if she could hear him. Maybe she could. He didn't know how souls really worked. But he didn't care either way. He just wanted to say it. At least to something, even if it was just to a demon and the air.

"I love you Tenten," he said softly. "If this doesn't work, then it won't matter. I'll kill myself anyways, I've already made up my mind."

His chest rose and fell sharply as he gathered his courage to him. The knife he held in one of his hands shook, while the ball he held in the other flashed with the demon's boiling temper. He steadied his position, and felt the warmth of serenity flow over him.

"I'll see you soon either way," he finished with a sad smile.

And he thrust the knife forward into the ball.

The glass shattered and exploded downwards into the floor, and immediately the black smoke flew out of it. Neji threw himself backwards out of its way as it swept through the air and cascaded out of the kitchen. Neji stared after it, eyes huge.

It was silent. Neji slowly straightened up from the counter he'd been leaning against and leaned over so he could see out the door into the darkness of the living room. He grabbed the flashlight and beamed it in; nothing. The room was as bare as it had been before.

"…Did it work…?" he muttered to himself, confused. He didn't know what was supposed to happen next. He took a step outside of the kitchen and looked around.

And that's when he heard it; a small rustling sound over his shoulder.

Neji whipped around, waving the flashlight in front of him sharply. There was nothing there. But he could see the way into the secluded hallway that led to the two bedrooms. He frowned and began to walk down the hallway, trying to ignore the spider climbing one of the walls on a string of dust. He found one of the doors and opened it.

It opened into Tenten's old room. This too was empty. But Neji felt a small smile come to his face as he remembered her bed, and Tenten lying on it on her stomach eating a lollipop, reading a novel. She was always so warm and inviting. So friendly. So refreshing from a life of death and horror that he'd lived.

He sighed, seeing it clear, and turned around.

And then he froze in shock. Because as he turned, he glimpsed something. It was only for a second, but around the corner at the end of the hallway he could see something black fluttering, and disappearing as it flew off out of sight.

Neji immediately gave chase. His adrenaline pounded with excitement and nerves. This had to be her. It _had_ to be.

He stumbled out into the living room. Nothing was there. He hissed under his breath and twisted around. There was a noise coming from the kitchen. He fisted the flashlight intensely and sprinted into the kitchen.

But he did not get far.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, he skidded to a halt in the doorway.

His mouth fell open. He couldn't move. He almost dropped the flashlight.

And his heart rose in his chest like a balloon.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen, she whipped around to face him. She was donned only in a black dress, which twirled with her long, brown hair, which was down, tumbling around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide with shock, as her lips, pink and soft, formed a quiet name: "Neji?"

"Tenten…"

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"I still don't know why you don't want chocolate," Shikamaru muttered. "It's supposed to be something _everyone_ likes."

"I _told_ you," Temari said exasperatedly. She sat on one of the bar stools in the kitchen, Shikamaru on the other side of the counter. "I want my first food to be a surprise. I don't want to be biased."

"It's not your first food, you've eaten before." Shikamaru reminded her. "Besides, are you serious? You think you're gonna be prejudice…against _food_?"

"Yeah, kinda."

Shikamaru sighed. After cleaning Kakashi up and letting him sleep upstairs in an empty bedroom, Temari took a shower to clean off all the blood while Shikamaru waited for her in the kitchen. According to Kakashi, Temari lost control when the last of her demon blood had left her system. Apparently the blood didn't want to leave and decided to lash out in its last few seconds of life, using her as its weapon. Fortunately she was strong enough to repel it, so it was drained from her system, only after she knocked Kakashi halfway across the room.

Now, Shikamaru was living up to his promise to help her taste food for the first time. She was very eager, he'd realized with a fondness as she studied her hands carefully. So much happier than she used to be.

"What are you doing?" Temari snapped, looking up suddenly. "Go on, lazy."

Shikamaru sighed and obliged, bending down to look at the food he'd emptied out of their cooler and into the fridge. He tried to find something mellow; he didn't want Temari's first food to shock her tongue. And that's when he saw the little box of strawberries sitting on the first shelf. He smiled. Perfect.

"Got it," he said, grabbing the box and standing up. But he held it behind his back as he walked over to Temari, and then slid a hand gently over her eyes.

She stiffened. "Um, hey, what are you doing?"

"You want it to be a surprise, right? Open your mouth."

Temari curiously obliged, and Shikamaru slipped in a slice of strawberry, taking his hand away.

She chewed thoughtfully for a while. He walked around the counter to stand in front of her, waiting. After a while, she grinned and looked up at him. "Dude. Wow." Shikamaru laughed as she put a finger to her lips. "This is amazing! It must be candy."

He snorted. "What? No, you're way off."

"But it tastes good."

"Doesn't mean it's candy."

"What the hell is it then?"

"You gotta guess."

Temari frowned. Shikamaru smirked. He was thoroughly enjoying this.

"Um…I really dunno…"

"It's a fruit," he hinted.

"Whoa, seriously?" Temari blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, concentrating. "Okay, wait, lemme guess…It's an apple."

"Nope."

"Orange?"

"It's a berry."

"Raspberry!"

Shikamaru couldn't help but burst out laughing. She glared at him and he said between chuckles, "I'm sorry, this is hilarious!"

"Shikamaru, I have been _dead _all my life," she muttered. "Now help me out."

"Just go ahead and look if you want to."

Temari sighed and swiveled around on the stool, then she cocked her head to the side, confused as she stared at the little box of strawberries. "Strawberry?"

"Yup," he said as she reached for another and examined it. "Again, not candy."

"But it's so good." She popped another in her mouth and ate it happily, turning around on the seat to face him again. "Damn this shit is amazing! Now I know why Tenten loved it so much!"

He watched her with a smile. "You look different as a human, you know," he said softly. She raised an eyebrow and he held his hands up warily, saying defensively, "You look _good_, I'm just saying you look less…" His voice faded away, and she eyed him.

"Sad?" she guessed at last. He nodded, and she smiled. The smile was dazzling. "I _am_ less sad."

All of a sudden she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Shikamaru's waist, pulling him closer so she could rest her face against his chest, listening to his heart. He allowed her to do so, and placed a hand on the back of her neck gently while she sat on the barstool hugging him.

"Thanks," she whispered. Her voice meant it, deeply and emotionally.

He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay," he murmured as he felt her shoulders shake; she was starting to cry.

"F-Fuck, I'm sorry," she stuttered through the tears that she tried to hold back. "I don't know why I'm…"

"It's okay," he repeated. "You just…well…changed species. It's hard."

"But it's over now. I'm being stupid," she said, eyes squeezed tight. "I'm just being a fucking idiot."

"No, you're not," he said patiently. When she didn't answer, he frowned. "Hey, look at me." He tilted her face to gaze up at his own, and yet again found himself staring into her eyes. They were like two windows to the sky, or something he'd never known. It intrigued him even more, and he leaned down to follow his urges, and kiss her slowly.

He felt her arms wrapping around his neck, and he lifted her off the stood so she could stand and press her body into his, leaning into him as their lips never parted. She was light and skinny, easy to hold onto, and her kiss tasted like strawberries. At the moment, Shikamaru began to wonder if his death had come early and maybe he had been wrong, and there really was a heaven. Everything was perfect, and even when she parted from him and rested her face in his chest, he couldn't stop kissing the top of her head, holding her in an embrace that never seemed to end.

This woman couldn't have been born a demon. No. She was an angel, Shikamaru knew. A perfect, amazing angel. If Hell came for him right now, he would be happy to follow, because at that moment, he was happier than he ever had been. Because at that moment, he realized he was in love. He was in a deep, sweet love.

And he did not know how to tell her.

"Shikamaru…"

"Are you tired?" he murmured into her hair. "You can sleep if you want. It's only eight but—"

"I'm not tired," she said, and he recognized the stubbornness in her voice and smirked.

"Again, you just changed species. You can't tell me you're not tired."

"I just did."

"Well it was a lie." He looked down at her and almost laughed at the defensive glare she wore.

"What's so funny?"

"You're adorable."

"Shut your trap." But she smiled through her frustration and gave him a playful shove.

"Come on." He put a hand to the small of her back and pushed her into the living room, walking behind her. "You can sleep on the sofa."

She looked over her shoulder with a scowl. "I'm not tired and I'm not going to sleep yet."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yet?"

He saw, suddenly, a smirk on her face, and was shocked when she whirled around and looped her arms around his neck yet again. "I think I should find a reason to be tired first," she said, her voice smooth and honey-sweet. She pressed her lips into his. He was starting to memorize the feel of it.

But gradually, this one became different.

She was kissing him harder than before, and her lips were moving faster. His skin tingled when he felt her chest pressing tightly against his. Soon enough, his tongue made it into her mouth, almost beyond his intentions. He almost laughed when he found she still tasted like strawberries. After a while of Shikamaru exploring her mouth, she moaned, and Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched.

That sound coming from her mouth! It was enough to drive him crazy. Shikamaru had no idea how a simple little noise from this woman could do this to him. He wanted to hear it again, over and over again. He wanted more of her, he wanted _all _of her.

He leaned her back romantically, deepening the sensations even further. Their bodies were pressing closer and closer to each other, her hands were clutching his cheeks, his hair, his chest. Her body felt amazing against his, he realized, and at the same time he came to that conclusion it was his turn to groan when she prodded a knee teasingly into his crotch, before wrapping that same leg around him.

She made a little "Mm…" sound in pleasure as the kiss got a tad more vicious. The sound made Shikamaru's mind whirl.

And just when it was starting to get hot, Shikamaru moved his lips to her neck, her jaw, enjoying the second moan he got out of her as her hands tightened on his shoulders. He wished he could find words to say as she spoke his name breathlessly, but he figured just kissing her as much as he could was a good cover-up.

3qu!1!8r!um

Neji twitched violently when Tenten suddenly shrieked. She threw herself backwards and stumbled into the kitchen counter, falling over it. She struggled to keep her balance, but pressed herself backwards hysterically, eyes huge as she stared at Neji.

Neji was totally confused. What was this? She looked terrified of him. Her chest was heaving, her face was drawn in terror and agony. "Tenten..." he said again carefully. His voice was croaking with stress, but he didn't care. All he cared about was her. He wanted to touch her again. And he could.He couldn't believe it, he finally _could_. "Tenten…" He laughed, shaking his head, feeling his eyes water. He took a few steps forward. "Tenten, it's me."

"Stay the fuck away from me."

Neji blinked in surprise, halting. She was clutching the counter behind her tightly. "…Tenten?" Neji asked, worried. This was definitely odd. "What's wrong…? …You _are_ Tenten, right?"

"Leave me alone," Tenten said. Her eyes had tears in them. Neji narrowed his own eyes. She was scared. Absolutely horrified. Of _him_.

"Tenten, I'm not going to hurt you," Neji said gently, raising his hands as slowly and cautiously as he could. He gave her a gentle smile. "Come on, it's me—"

"Just _stop it_!" Tenten suddenly screamed, grabbing her head and bowing down. "Leave me alone. Stop doing this. Stop tricking me. Just go away, _go away_! You're not Neji. You're not Neji. _Go away_!"

Neji was frozen and bewildered for a second, until it dawned on him.

He closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. Of course. She'd been in Hell. Of _course_.

The demons had been tricking her. Using _him_.

And she thought she was still in Hell…

Neji was furious. His blood boiled. But he knew not to act on this. He pushed the anger down, only focusing on Tenten for now. Forever. Only her…

He opened his eyes, facing her. She was sobbing into her hands, cowering against the counter, gasping words he couldn't understand over and over again, all along the lines of "Please leave me alone, just leave me alone, go away, stop…"

Neji chewed on his lip. He hated seeing her like this, wished he could just go up to her and hold her. But he knew that was only going to provoke her more.

But he knew something he _could_ do.

He carefully pulled a long knife out of his back pocket. "Tenten…" he said slowly, in a controlled voice. "Look at me." She didn't obey, she just closed her eyes tight and covered them with her fingers. Neji was patient. "Tenten, it's me. I'm real. This isn't Hell. And I can prove it to you."

Tenten looked up, but only slightly. Tears slipped through her lids and she stuttered, "Th-That's what they all said…"

"I'm different," Neji insisted softly. "You know it. You can feel it. It's me, Tenten. Watch." He held up the knife.

Tenten flung her arms back in a flash and let her mouth fall open. "Th…Th-Th-That's impossible…" she gasped, her breaths coming in short bursts. "No…But that knife's…No, there's no silver in Hell…There's no silver in Hell…"

"I know. We're not in Hell," Neji said calmly. "And I'm not a demon either. See?" He allowed the knife to come down and slit the skin on one of his arms. Blood poured out, but nothing else happened. "See?" Neji repeated, ignoring the sharp pain. "If I was a demon, I would be burning. I'm not a demon."

Tenten was gaping at him. Neji allowed her to gather her thoughts as she stared at the blood on his arm, then looked up and into his eyes. "How…H-How…?" she whispered. "No…This is a trick...This has to be a trick…"

Neji smiled. "Look behind you, and you'll know for sure. It's not. This is real. Just look behind you."

There was something Neji hadn't mentioned to her yet, and he figured this was the best time to bring it up.

Tenten slowly and timidly turned her head over her shoulder, and there she could see her demon.

It was there in the air, over her shoulder. Black smoke, billowing gently. Its wings were outspread, and it hovered behind her like a reassuring shadow.

"It's your demon, Tenten," Neji said as Tenten's mouth fell open in utter shock. "It found you. It brought you back."

Tenten turned to face Neji again. Her eyes were filled with tears. She was gasping and choking on the air. But to Neji, she looked more beautiful than ever.

"I'm…real..?" she managed to squeak. "I'm alive…?"

Neji allowed himself to relax. "Yes…" he whispered. Yes. She was. She was…

"Oh…my god…" she croaked out, before her eyes rolled into her head, and she crumpled to the floor.

"Hey!" Neji threw himself forwards, grabbing her shoulders tightly and holding her up. But he let out a small, breathy laugh of relief when he realized she'd only feinted. He pulled some of her long hair out of her face, and held her to him, realizing at that moment he was finally holding her again.

He felt a tear drop from his jaw and onto her cheek, and he wiped it away, caressing her face fondly as he did so. Her cheeks were flushed, and she had a healthy glow around her. She wasn't ill. She wasn't dying. She was here. As alive as ever.

"Tenten…" he gasped, leaning down and hiding his face in her neck. He stroked her hair, keeping her in his arms, vowing to never, ever let her slip away again. He pulled back to kiss her forehead. His lips stayed there, and he closed his eyes. There was a weight that had been on his shoulders, and it was gone now. He felt like he was in heaven. If there was a heaven, this would be it. _She _would be it.

He breathed in her delightful scent, whispering into her skin, "Welcome back, angel."

29

**_a/n:_**So I thought I'd let those of you who have been furiously demanding updates know that I have been suffering from alcohol abuse, I'm in college, I have a job, I'm in a relationship, I have a gym membership, and I have a social life. If you really like my story that much, and you really want me to update, I suggest you say "please" every once in a while, because what you've been doing is _not_ how you talk to a person of whom you admire the work of. A smart thing to do would to be to learn the meaning of the word "patience", and start showing me some respect. I'm not going to apologize for taking a long time. Don't expect any pity from me.

On a lighter note, HELLO. I'm back. And I love you. And I miss you. D: I'm sure you're all really excited right now. Hoorah, Tenten's back and ShikaTema sex _is happening_. Not that it isn't always happening. Nontheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please give me a review to tell me how you're doing, and thanks a lot for reading! See you next time. I'll update sooner this time, I _promise_. (:

maravelous


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